Draco Malfoy & the Deathly Hallows
by malfoytheseeker
Summary: Dumbledore is dead. Bellatrix is back. And Voldemort is ready. Draco Malfoy faces his most difficult challenges to date when Voldemort realizes that there is a traitor among the Death Eaters. Will the Hallows and Fawkes the phoenix be enough to save Draco? Or must he pull out the last of his guts to take down the Dark Lord? Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling so HP isn't mine.
1. 1: Relocation

"Incendio."

Draco Malfoy burned the parchment he had received from Theodore Nott. It had been quite informative: the Burrow had been fully repaired so the Weasleys were leaving Grimmauld Place. Pansy and Theo, along with Theo's mum, were moving in with Andromeda and Ted Tonks.

On a new parchment, Draco scribbled a quick thanks for the update and wished everyone the best. He also asked when they would be moved out by. He rolled it up and tied the letter to Theo's owl's leg, sending the creature on its way.

It had only been a week since Dumbledore had fallen, leaving Draco in quite a bit of frustration. He had been careful to keep the Elder Wand in the secret compartment Hermione had made him a couple years back at all times. The invisibility cloak was always in the pocket of his main robe, Marvolo Gaunt's ring in another pocket.

He was fully aware he possessed all three Hallows, and that made him somewhat uneasy. Draco feared that Voldemort would discover him, especially since the Dark Lord had assured everyone that he was looking for a traitor. If Draco was found out, it would all be over.

His mind wandered to Hermione. He thought of the reassuring smile she would give him as she hid her own anxiousness. How much would she tell Potter and Weasley? Weasley was too volatile to have such confidential information and Potter was still susceptible to tricks from Voldemort. If only he hadn't lost the fake Sickle.

Draco rose from his desk. There wasn't a moment to lose. He needed to move Sirius and Ollivander to Grimmauld Place—it was the safest place for them at the moment.

"Fawkes," he called. The phoenix emerged from Draco's closet and floated above his head. Draco reached up and clapped Fawkes's tail. In an instant, he was shoved through a vortex and landed swiftly in Aberforth's office at the Hog's Head. Aberforth was not there so Draco wrapped the invisibility cloak around himself and left the office.

Out in the lobby, Draco noticed Aberforth flipping through an old record book. There wasn't a soul in sight. He approached the old wizard and carefully removed his cloak, clearing his throat.

Aberforth looked up and checked their surroundings.

"Mister Malfoy," he acknowledged. "To what pleasure do I owe this visit?"

"Sirius and Ollivander," Draco said. "They need to be moved. It's too dangerous to keep them here, so close to Hogwarts, where you know the Carrows will be planted."

"I agree. I shall let our friends know. Where will they be moved to?"

"Sirius's house, ex-Order headquarters."

Aberforth nodded his approval. "Is Fawkes in my office right now? By himself?"

Draco sighed. "He'll be fine." After losing Dumbledore, Fawkes had been a little off, but Draco and Duchess had worked over the past several days to ensure the phoenix was alright. "I apologize for the invasion of privacy, but my Floo is being monitored and I have come to distrust vaporizing."

"Not to worry," Aberforth said with eyes reminiscent of his brother. "You are always welcome to enter through my office. It is not easy, what you are doing."

Draco said nothing. He wondered if Aberforth blamed him for his brother's death. "I'll be on my way now." He nodded goodbye to the innkeeper before heading back to Fawkes.

Back at Malfoy Manor, Draco tossed Marvolo Gaunt's ring in his hand. He itched to use it, just so he could see his former headmaster one more time, clarify everything that happened on the Astronomy Tower. But after getting the curse last year, there was no telling what might happen, even though the Horcrux had been destroyed. Cadmus Peverell had fallen prey to the Resurrection Stone's magic and Draco wasn't about to let anything harm him.

There was a flutter of wings and a screech. Draco turned to see Theo's owl already back with a reply. He jumped off the bed and untied the note.

"Thank you, Theo," Draco muttered as he burned the paper. They would all be moved out by the following night. He sent Theo's owl back and wrote instructions to Aberforth, sending the parchment via Fawkes.

Two days later, Draco stood between Sirius and Ollivander, each man's few belongings packed up.

"I am grateful to you for this, Draco," Sirius told him. "You have done so much for us all."

Draco shook his head. "None of it will have meant a thing if I can't bring an end to the Dark Lord."

"Hey, at least you're involved," Sirius tried to joke. "I'd give anything to be fighting him."

"You've had enough to deal with," Draco said. "Part of it my fault, actually."

Ollivander interjected, "Mister Malfoy, I would not go so far as to accuse you of anything. That day Albus brought you into my shop, I knew you'd amount to great things. You've got Merlin's wand, have you not? There's greatness in you and I am confident that you will be able to take down He Who Must Not Be Named without our help."

Draco merely nodded, not wanting Ollivander to realize how much pressure he had put on the seventeen-year-old.

"On three," he commanded, "we'll grab onto Fawkes. This way we'll be able to directly enter the house." When the others nodded, he counted and they grasped the phoenix's tail.

In a flash, they were in the foyer of 12 Grimmauld Place. Suddenly, the dust rose from the ground and began to form a figure. To Draco's surprise, the figure was Dumbledore. It approached them and demanded to know if one of them was Severus Snape.

"We didn't kill you," Draco said. _Although I might have helped,_ he added as an afterthought. "We're not Severus Snape." Dumbledust blew into little bits, sending the wizards into coughing fits.

"That must've been Alastor's doing," Sirius deduced.

"Mad-Eye Moody was here?" Draco said.

Sirius nodded as he walked down the hall. Draco and Ollivander followed him to the kitchen. Draco set down a couple bags of his own on the kitchen table. They contained enough food to keep the men satisfied for a couple weeks. Then, Draco would send Fawkes to Aberforth, who would send supplies to Grimmauld Place.

"If you two need anything," Draco spoke, "you'll have to risk Flooing to the Hog's Head. Because of that, I suggest you wait until Fawkes arrives and Aberforth will get whatever you need instantly. It's not a perfect system, but we want you to be completely safe."

"We understand," Ollivander informed him, offering a smile of gratitude. "May the wands be with you, Mister Malfoy."

Draco offered a smile back and shook hands with both the men. "Get situated, then. Actually, I'll ask Aberforth if he's willing to visit the week Fawkes won't be coming just to check up on you. That way, you'll have contact once a week. I'll go now and I'll come back to let you know."

Sirius thanked him and said, "Do not hesitate to do what must be done, Draco. Even if you think the world is counting on you, remember that there are some difficult choices that must be made and to make them you must be calm."

"I'll heed your advice," Draco told him before he and Fawkes took off. They arrived in Aberforth's office, exactly as planned. The old wizard was awaiting them.

"I trust they have been successfully transported?" Aberforth asked.

Draco gave him the affirmative. "I was wondering if you'd be up to visiting them every other week, all the weeks that Fawkes won't be going."

Aberforth said, "I would have no problem with that, but there is no way for me to get there."

The blond boy's face fell. "I forgot. I'll let them know. Thanks for all your trouble, though."

He returned to Grimmauld Place to inform the residents of the news before Aberforth could ask to be in custody of Fawkes, which would make such visits possible. But Draco wasn't willing to part with such a helpful and rare creature, even if Aberforth was probably the rightful owner now. As he looked to the future, he could already tell that he needed Fawkes to get him through some of the hardest responsibilities he would ever face.

 **A/N: I'm back! And so is Draco. I apologize for taking such a long time but this book is finally here! I hope you will enjoy the final installment in this series. It will be long, as was the original Deathly Hallows, but I hope you'll find it exciting and interesting. After this book is complete, I'll move onto the other HP fanfictions on my list of ideas. But for now, enjoy the ride!**


	2. 2: Retrieval

Draco could not be in a more unpleasant situation. He was seated next to his least favorite aunt in one of the sitting rooms at the Manor, and Bella just would _not_ put down her little skull head toy. Draco hadn't thought it possible to be more insane than she was before he had wiped her memory, but here she was, cackling like a maniac.

They were awaiting the Dark Lord, who had an important task for them. Wormtail had been tasked with keeping them company for some reason, and so he sat in the corner of the sofa opposite them, disregarding the snot dripping out of his nose as he wriggled nervously.

At long last, He Who Kept Draco Waiting materialized into the room. Draco had never been more glad to see the dark wizard in his life.

"I mustn't keep you long," came his high-pitched voice. "It is imperative that this be done immediately. The two of you must retrieve the dungeon's jail cells from Bellatrix and Fenrir's former workshop."

In that instant, Draco knew he was being tested. No one knew but Voldemort and the traitor knew the workshop's location so Draco had to be careful with his words. Perhaps Voldemort thought that if Draco tried to leave for the workshop, he would be revealed as the traitor.

"Where is the workshop?" Draco asked. He studied Voldemort's expression but could find no indication of his thoughts.

"I have placed it back into Bellatrix's head so she will be able to take you."

That was definitely a lie. The moment Draco attempted to vaporize with Bellatrix he would involuntarily be taken to the workshop just because the image would be in his head.

"My Lord, how is that possible? I do not mean to doubt you, my Lord, but I wish to understand the magic you have done." Would his excessive questioning cause even more suspicion?

Voldemort's eyes ever so slightly narrowed. "I shall explain it to you when you return."

Draco bowed his head before continuing to block Voldemort from seeing his thoughts. Could Voldemort tell Draco knew Occlumency? Snape had taught Draco to invent and place some "typical teenage Death Eater" thoughts on his wall so that Voldemort couldn't detect anything but Draco couldn't be sure if it worked or not.

He turned to his aunt, who was still playing with the skull and apparently hadn't heard the conversation at all.

"Aunt Bellatrix," Draco hesitantly called. "The Dark Lord wills us to travel to your former workshop to bring back the cells. Can you take us there?"

"Will there be any Muggles to kill?" Bellatrix asked, jumping up.

Was she instructed by Voldemort to ask this? "Erm, I don't know. Perhaps."

Draco held onto her arm and used his Occlumency to block his own mind from himself. They did not move.

"My Lord," Draco spoke, "we are not going anywhere."

"No, you are not," Voldemort answered deliberately. "Very well. Have Wormtail take you."

Trap confirmed and avoided. Draco kept focusing on blocking his mind as he reluctantly latched onto Wormtail. Voldemort must have modified Malfoy Manor to allow Peter Pettigrew to vaporize in and out at will because before, only the Malfoys, Voldemort, and Bellatrix could do that. This time, the three Death Eaters vaporized into the air and appeared in an entirely dark room with a familiar smell.

"Lumos maxima!" Draco said, allowing light to flood the room.

There they were—five cells all lined up, the one that held Hermione a few months ago at the very end. He still didn't forgive himself for being so careless on Christmas. Hermione had suffered much because of him, and Draco had to risk Luna's life to save her.

Though he couldn't save Dumbledore in the end.

He shook the thoughts out of his head. If Hermione were by his side, she would tell him that he was not at fault. She would try to keep him sharp.

"Are there any sticking charms on these?" Draco asked Wormtail, knowing full well there were.

Pettigrew nodded. "The master said that the same spells were used as when these cells were back in the dungeons."

Draco squinted at Wormtail. He could tell the former Gryffindor was just itching to say more.

"Spit it out," Draco commanded.

Wormtail smirked. "Just be grateful you'll be allowed to live." He snickered.

"Of course I'll be allowed to live." Wormtail must have been in on the sniffing-out-the-traitor plan. "I didn't think there was anything I had to answer for."

"And now the Dark Lord doesn't either," the rat finished.

Draco gave him a questioning look before turning back to the cells.

 _Reglutin_ , he thought pointing with his wand at the cell that was farthest left and drawing a glowing silver line all the way down the row. _Recludam. Renodo._ He repeated his motions two more times.

"Wormtail, hold onto the cell on the very left," he instructed. "Aunt Bella, you hold onto the two cells next to that one."

Draco made his way over to Hermione's former cell and the cell on its left. "We shall separately transport these to the dungeons so that we may not all collide. Once you are there, you have ten seconds to fly the cell to its former post—it's marked—and leave the dungeon. Wormtail, you go first."

His aunt complied and Draco verbally counted to ten before giving Wormtail the go ahead. Another ten seconds later, Draco left the workshop. He landed by the stairs of the dungeon and saw the other three cells in their correct positions. He flew his cells to their spots and walked over to perform the locking drills.

"Cohaereo," he spoke, drawing a line with his wand. "Clausereo. Conmereo." The cells were now locked into place.

He quickly stepped across the dungeon and bounded up the steps. If Voldemort was still in the Manor, Draco would tell him what Wormtail said and casually ask what it meant. Wormtail and Bellatrix were waiting for him outside the dungeons.

"Follow me," he said, making his way back to the sitting room. The Dark Lord, it appeared, had left.

"I suppose you two can leave now," Draco suggested strongly, looking back and forth between his aunt and the rat, trying to decide he was the more pleasant of the two. On cue, both Death Eaters materialized away, leaving Draco alone in his Manor.

"This won't do," he said to himself. If he could, he would find Hermione right now. But there were two other people he wished to see and hadn't in too long a while. Draco walked to the Floo room and drew his wand, lightly cutting the tip of his finger. He then touched his wand to the blood before brandishing his wand several times and jabbing it in the air.

He thought in Latin, _Family does what family does for family._

Suddenly he was transported through a vortex and was entered into the salon of the Malfoys' house in France. He hoped Lucius and Narcissa were at home.


	3. 3: Reunion

Draco walked towards the hallway on his right, leading to the eating area. He kept his wand drawn just in case and crept slowly towards the room. Suddenly, he was knocked out and on the ground.

"Wait, Lucius, wait!"

Of course his parents were ready for an attack. He should have announced himself. His mother was at his side in an instant, helping him to his feet.

"Looks like you're terribly delighted to see me," Draco quipped as Lucius cleared his throat and appeared from a doorway.

"I'm just glad you're safe," Narcissa told him, leading him to the eating room. "No doubt the Dark Lord has been working you overtime. You must be hungry."

"How are you two?" Draco asked.

"Helpless, I suppose," Lucius said. "We haven't much to do but wait for someone to find us."

"He's got big plans, as I'm sure you know. I might need you."

Narcissa scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, Draco." She shuffled about the kitchen, trying to put together an acceptable meal. "By joining with Voldemort, we endangered your life before you were even born. And now you have to suffer for it." She shook her head. "I'll never forgive myself for putting you in such a difficult position."

"Mother," Draco started, "I'm not terribly happy to play both sides of the field either, but if you two hadn't been on his side, I wouldn't have turned out the way I am."

"The boy is right," Lucius agreed. "Everything happens for a reason. Without Draco, I am not sure where the Wizarding World would be."

Draco wasn't sure if his father was trying to make heavier the burden upon his son's shoulders.

"Sit down, Draco," Narcissa commanded. "You're not going anywhere until you're properly fed and you tell us how things are going with Hermione Granger."

Lucius quirked an eyebrow at his wife. Draco wanted to bury his face in a pillow and never come out.

Draco explained how she had been captured and how she was saved, casually omitting the part about Bellatrix.

"Why did you let the poor girl suffer so long?" Narcissa asked, clearly disapproving. Draco sighed and explained the ordeal between Potter and himself.

"You convinced him she was dead? Draco, I know we were difficult parents but surely we raised you better than that."

"I think it's quite amusing," Lucius encouraged.

"I'm glad," Draco sarcastically told him. "Look, there's a lot that's been going on. I promise to stay in touch—"

"It's best that you don't," Lucius interrupted. "You are already in a great deal of danger, even more so since you have left the Manor to be here. Surely the Dark Lord is keeping a close eye?"

Draco nodded. "You're right. He thinks there's a traitor and because of you and Mother, I was a prime suspect. But Wormtail let it slip that the Dark Lord no longer suspects me. Of course, this doesn't mean I'm off the hook."

As Draco finished his meal, he assured his parents that he would be perfectly fine and that he knew what he was doing. Stepping through the one-way Floo, he could only hope that he was right about himself.

Nearly a week later, Draco found himself sat in the drawing room as part of the top Death Eater circle. Voldemort looked impatient as Snape and Yaxley walked through the doors five minutes late.

"Punctuality is no longer just a virtue, but a necessary skill for survival," his cold voice spoke as the men took their seats.

"Apologies, my Lord," Snape said. "I ran into some trouble regarding my source but I can assure you it has all been _properly_ sorted."

"Then I suppose you have some news for us?"

"Indeed," replied Snape. "The order will be moving Harry Potter from his current location in Little Whinging to a secret location on the twenty-seventh. I—"

"My Lord," Yaxley interjected, "I have heard differently. The Auror, let slip that Potter will not be moved until the thirtieth, the night before the boy turns seventeen."

Snape turned to Yaxley with an impassive expression. "The Auror did not 'let slip' anything he did not mean to say." To the whole table, he explained, "My source told me that there are plans to lay a false trail; this must be it. No doubt a has been placed upon Dawlish. I assure you, Yaxley, the Office will play no further part in the protection of Harry Potter. The Order believes that we have infiltrated the Ministry."

"Well, they're right, aren't they?" someone jeered and conversation broke out among the Death Eaters.

"Silence!" Voldemort ordered. "Yaxley, your report?"

Clearing his throat and hoping to recover from his embarrassment, Yaxley spoke. "I have successfully placed Pius Thicknesse, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, under the Imperius Curse. In fact—"

"Thicknesse is but one man," Voldemort remarked, "and Scrimgeour must be completely surrounded by our people before I act."

"Not to worry, my Lord. With Thicknesse under our control, we will have no trouble overtaking the rest of the Ministry, as the man has regular contact with not only the other department Heads, which he can Imperius, but with the Minister himself."

"Then I suppose it shall not be long before the Ministry is ours. On a different and perhaps more important note, I shall require a new wand. Because my wand shares a core with dear Harry Potter, I was unable to fatally harm him during our duel in Little Hangleton."

Draco stiffened and hoped Voldemort would not come to him, especially since Draco shared a core with both Potter and his rival.

The Dark Lord continued, "Would anyone like to volunteer a wand?" He quickly glanced around the room, observing each of his followers. Draco kept his face emotionless and his head angled towards the table. He did not dare turn his head as he heard the footsteps slowly approach him.

"Well, Draco," the boy in question internally groaned "I presumed you would be quite eager to offer your wand as compensation for your traitorous parents."

"My Lord, I'm afraid my wand isn't worthy of your mastership." _Mastership_? Draco thought. _That's not even a bloody word!_

"Not to worry. I will deem its worth myself." Voldemort held out his hand.

Reluctantly, Draco drew his wand and handed it to him.

The Dark Lord gripped the wand and jabbed it towards Yaxley, shouting, "Crucio!" Yaxley flinched, but the wand jolted, changing direction, and shot golden sparks towards the chandelier, bringing it down on the table.

Draco sat perfectly still, with a look of shock on his face.

"Your wand must be tied very closely to you," Voldemort commented, handing it back. "I suspect no one has ever been able to use it before."

"No one else has ever tried before," Draco told him honestly. Well, semi-honestly. No one _living_.

"Very curious. What did you say your core was?"

"Dragon heartstring," Draco told him for the first time. He hoped Voldemort wouldn't break it to check.

"And does it work perfectly for you?"

Draco pushed back in his chair and stood. Carefully, he repaired the chandelier and lifted it up with verbal spells, adding a final "Reparo" to reattach it to the ceiling.

"Ah, then you are very unique, indeed."

Draco sat down in a sheepish manner. "I suppose." _Of course I am,_ he thought, just hoping the meeting would be over.

"Then I suppose I must turn to your dear Aunt Bella."

Bellatrix handed over her wand, but it looked as if she couldn't care less, having somehow stolen the skull from Snape's house and playing with it at the moment. Draco wondered how she got the skull—it was erased from her memory. Was she slowly getting back fragments because of Voldemort's intense efforts?

"Before you all leave in a frenzy," Voldemort spoke, "I have one final task for us to attend to." He turned to Peter Pettigrew. "Wormtail, if you would be so kind as to retrieve our guest from the dungeons."

Draco frowned. Since when was there someone in the dungeons?

Wormtail soon arrived with a woman Draco recognized as the Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts.

"May I present Charity Burbage?" said the Dark Lord as Wormtail dragged the bound woman and with his wand, threw her onto the table where the chandelier had sat before. She saw Draco and narrowed her eyes, though there was still fear in them. Draco turned his head to his hands.

Voldemort undid the rope tying the professor's mouth shut. From what Draco could make out, the woman had been tortured greatly. There were actually bruises on her arms, most likely from being tossed into objects or walls.

"Not content with corrupting and polluting the minds of Wizarding children," the high-pitched voice began, "last week Professor Burbage wrote an impassioned defense of Mudbloods in the Daily Prophet. She believes wizards must accept these thieves of our magic. The dwindling of the purebloods is, says Professor Burbage, a most desirable circumstance."

Shouts of anger filled the room. The professor was now sobbing.

"She would have us all mate with Muggles!"

The anger turned to harsh laughter.

"Time to test out my new wand," Voldemort whispered between Bellatrix and Draco's ears. He pointed at the woman.

Professor Burbage looked pleadingly at Snape. "We have worked together for years, Severus. Please," she begged, "don't let them do this."

Snape remained expressionless and simply moved his eyes to watch Voldemort yell, "Avada Kedavra!"

The woman slid back to where Draco sat and her head rolled over to face him, now with lifeless eyes.

"Dinner, Nagini," the Dark Lord said to his pet as he left the room.

 **A/N: Hey, guys, I'm still here! Thanks to everyone for hanging on. School's been really busy and I finally got all my applications for college done. I'll try to update as often as possible and hopefully the story will be finished before summer.**


	4. 4: Reflection

"Patience, dear Rodolphus," Bellatrix uncharacteristically told her husband as Voldemort and the Death Eaters quietly waited. All but Voldemort were hovering on their broomsticks. Draco hovered to the left of Voldemort, who stood to the left of Snape. Not too long ago, Harry Potter's aunt, uncle, and cousin had departed from number 4 Privet Drive, according to one of the scouts Voldemort had sent ahead. The scout reported that shortly after this, a sizable group of wizards appeared at Potter's doorstep and entered. At the present time, the Death Eaters calmly awaited for the other scout, who had stayed behind, to signal them when Potter and company departed.

"Ready to go down in history, son?" cackled Rabastan, nudging Draco hard.

"Don't call me son," Draco spat back. "You're not my fa..." he trailed off.

"No, I'm not," Rabastan agreed, "because your _father_ escaped and is who knows where!"

The other Death Eaters began laughing and taking shots at insulting Draco.

 _Stay calm,_ a voice told Draco. That voice sounded a lot like Hermione.

"You reckon we can make him go paler than his hair?" someone joked, eliciting more laughter.

Draco glanced at Voldemort out the corner of his eye, but the creature seemed to be focusing straight ahead. Snape blankly stared in the same direction.

"We can't do that—he's already as pale as his mum!"

Draco spun around and shouted "Crucio!" at the man he knew said that, Macnair. Stepping down from his broom, Draco approached the other Death Eater and made him scream and writhe in pain.

"Don't you dare talk about my mother that way," Draco spoke with a clenched jaw as he released Macnair from the curse. He already felt Voldemort's eyes on him. Approving? Disappointed? Draco didn't dare look so he continued to glare at each of the Death Eaters. They weren't wearing their masks that day. Their master insisted that there was no reason to hide anymore, with success so near. As Draco met each set of eyes, he ensured their owners felt scared out of their cloaks.

Suddenly, a terrible thought occurred to Draco. If he really wanted, he could easily take over the Death Eaters after Voldemort was defeated. He could have them torture each other and kill each other for all the horrible things each wizard or witch had done. He could gather his own army and hunt down everyone he didn't like and eliminate them. He could be the new Minister—the Wizarding World would certainly be better off under his rule.

Draco snapped out of it. What was that emotion banging around inside his head? Was it fear? Fear of himself? He was Merlin's descendant...his true heir. He couldn't afford to think like that. No. He _wouldn't_ think like that. Draco would absolutely reject any corruption that came with being a Death Eater. It wasn't his choice, after all...there was nothing he could have done...or so he told himself.

He took a deep breath and collected to himself. He had done everything he could have. He needed his strength to save the world. The world needed his strength to save the world. Petty Potter couldn't manage a thing like that by himself.

 _You're not doing it for the glory,_ a voice inside his head spoke. _You're not doing it for the peace._ He was doing it for himself. And his family. And his friends. And Hermione. And the rest of the world would somehow branch off. But why? What really brought him to save Potter and company from the troll all those years ago?

Before Draco could think on it further, Voldemort brought him back to reality.

"I see you have learned how to effectively deal with unacceptable behavior," Voldemort surmised.

Draco turned to face his master. "Apologies, my—"

"Apologize not, dear Draco. I, too, would be quite ruthless had someone poked fun at my mother were I your age. Despite everything, she was still a witch after all. You see, we both have similar situations in that our mothers were blood traitors. And I have learned not to let this little fact affect me. Your mother made her choice to leave, and for that she will be punished. You must accept this."

"Of course, my Lord." Draco wanted to scoff. Clearly, Voldemort _did_ let his mother's decision to marry a Muggle affect him. Everything Voldemort had been through had led him to that point. Draco shuddered to even think that Voldemort was somehow right in claiming that they were in similar situations. He wasn't going to become a murderer just because life didn't agree with him.

A sharp pain sliced through Draco's left forearm. He mounted his broom. It was time.

With the information Snape had provided, the Dark Lord had split the Death Eaters into groups to be led by himself, Snape, and Bellatrix. Of course, Draco would be on Voldemort's team because the cloud of suspicion had yet to clear away, thanks to the wand incident.

Draco and the rest of his team rose and followed Voldemort all the way to the Palace of Westminster. They flew higher and higher until most of them were hidden from each other by the thick clouds. Draco's job was to lead a trail of green sparks with his wand since he was right on Voldemort's tail and probably the only one who could see him.

There was a perfectly timed crack of lightning as the Death Eaters burst out of the sky to meet four broomsticks, two thestrals, and a flying motorbike, each mounted by Harry Potter and a protector. Bellatrix's group emerged from the right, Snape's from the left. In an instant, spells started flying everywhere. Out of the corner of his eyes, Draco watched as Bellatrix charged after a woman with pink hair, Draco's cousin Nymphadora Tonks.

Draco followed Voldemort, who decided to go after the Auror Moody. It would make sense for Harry to be under his protection. They sped after the Potter and the Auror, who was sending spells left and right at them.

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted. In a flash, the Potter on the broomstick disapparated and the green beam of light hit the formidable Auror instead. Draco watched helplessly as the man slid off the broom and plummeted to the earth. He turned and sped after his master towards another man Draco believed was an Auror.

To most, it would seem like the Auror and his Potter were floating in midair, but they were really gliding across on a thestral. Upon seeing one closer than he had but a few minutes ago, he suddenly recalled the first time he had seen death, by his father's hand, no less.

"Keep up, Draco!" Voldemort shouted, startling him out of his memory. Draco looked up to catch Potter's head snap in his direction. For a split second he wondered why Voldemort cared where Draco was. It was as if he was building Draco up to be his second-in-command, although Snape currently held that position. But this was all forgotten when he caught the look on Potter's face—it was the same way in which Hermione would look at him.

Draco was so caught off guard that he almost smashed into the thestral. Voldemort and the Auror kept flinging spells at each other while Hermione was fending off three Death Eaters from the other side.

"Draco!" he heard her whisper-yell. He acted as if aiming for her but hit one of the Death Eaters instead, sending him on a downward spiral.

"It's him!" someone shouted. Everyone turned their heads to see Nott Sr. declare, "The Potter with Rubeus Hagrid just used Expelliarmus on Stan Shunpike."

"That's his trademark!" yelled one of the Death Eaters left fighting Hermione.

"Draco, with me now!" Voldemort called, speeding after Hagrid, letting Nott Sr. take over in a duel against the Auror.

"I'm sorry," Draco whispered as he sped past Hermione.

Ahead was Snape, aiming Sectumsempra at some Death Eater who looked on the verge of attacking Draco's former professor, Lupin, but somehow, one of the Potters got in the way and the curse severed his ear. Draco then saw Bellatrix and her husband still dueling Tonks and her Potter. Inconspicuously as he could, Draco managed to injure Rodolphus with a silent spell. Not because he wanted to save anyone, necessarily, for surely his cousin the Auror could handle herself, but because Rodolphus deserved it. And because Rabastan wasn't currently in Draco's sight.

Finally, Draco caught up to Voldemort, who was trying to blast Hagrid's flying motorbike. Potter was in the sidecar, which was barely still attached to the main bike. Voldemort then struck with Bellatrix's wand and Potter attempted to counter it, shooting gold sparks out of his wand. The moment Potter lifted his wand to defend himself, Draco wandlessly held up Potter's sidecar, knowing it would fall.

There was a deafening crack as his aunt's wand split right in half and Voldemort flew back. Draco used his energy to shove Potter and Hagrid away, the two disappearing into thin air just as Potter's sidecar was about to come undone.

Suddenly feeling lightheaded, Draco blinked rapidly to ensure he wasn't losing his vision as he and his broom began their descent towards the Thames. The last thing he could remember thinking was that Voldemort would take suspicion to a whole new level.

 **A/N: Well, I hope that was a satisfactory battle for you. I tried to stay accurate to the book's telling of events which is why Draco doesn't see or hear about Hedwig's death as the identifier of the real Harry. Draco recognizing Hermione may seem a little far fetched but if someone who looks like Potter and is calling out the enemy, aka you, by your first name then what would you think? Anyway, I know there's quite a few of you who gag at Dramione, but don't let that deter you from this book (there won't be as much interaction between them as in the last book). Just pretend it's a regular platonic friendship, because friendships are ships too ;)**

 **As always, I encourage you all to share this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!**


	5. 5: Repercussions

Voldemort was fuming. He looked like he could kill someone. So he did, and some poor nameless Death Eater was being removed from the drawing room of the Malfoy Manor. He must've thought his plan was flawless, that his followers were capable of handling fourteen wizards on the "wrong" side.

No one said a word. Draco didn't know what to think. It turned out that the crack from Bellatrix's wand was accompanied by a crack from Draco's broom, which had sent him tumbling. He had woken up in his room to find Snape waiting to explain that he had to speed after the falling Draco, after which he levitated Draco onto the back of his broom.

It was Sunday morning and no one had left the Manor all night. After Potter and Hagrid disappeared through some barrier, Voldemort had apparently instructed someone to ensure that everyone went back to the Manor to wait for their master. Draco was pretty certain that no one except him slept a wink, and he himself only slept to recover from the pressure of falling. And perhaps Rodolphous, who was still reeling from his Draco-inflicted injury.

"I know it must be hard," Voldemort suddenly began, "having to hide traitorous thoughts from me. You must be rather skilled, whoever you are. Just remember: I am the Dark Lord. I will _not_ fail to uncover your identity. And when I do, you shall meet a rather unfortunate end."

No response.

Draco was in turn suspicious of Voldemort. Why was Draco's presence necessary when the real Harry was found? In fact, it seemed that Voldemort was taking Draco everywhere with him, as if preparing him for something. Draco knew he wasn't to replace Voldemort when he realized his master had told him some time ago that he would need to be ready for when Snape's time came.

Voldemort was getting rid of Snape. That was the only explanation. But why? Did he doubt Snape when he told Draco he was being prepared to replace Snape? If Snape suspected Voldemort of suspicion, he must have told Dumbledore, who would then set up his own death at Snape's hand, knowing Draco couldn't kill him.

But why did it have to come to his death? Was there no other way to prove Snape's loyalty? There had to have been some other reason for arranging Dumbledore's fall. Draco still felt a little frustrated about his former headmaster's death. The old man, however senile others may have thought of him, always saw the good in everyone, perhaps even in Tom Riddle. Without Dumbledore, Draco might have truly stayed on the dark side to keep his head attached to his shoulders. Dumbledore gave him his best chance—he knew Draco wanted to see Voldemort taken down so he gave a Slytherin the opportunity to do everything in his power to help the side of the light.

But Draco was worried his death was in vain because Voldemort still seemed to be planning Snape's "departure" from the group. Maybe Voldemort had already visited Dumbledore's grave, as he had said he would. He would have realized that the Elder Wand was not buried with him, because it was currently hiding in Draco's wand holder. And although Draco was the wand's master because he had disarmed the previous owner, all Voldemort knew was that Snape had killed the previous owner. Which to the Dark Lord meant he would have to kill Snape.

Draco could absolutely NOT let that happen. Snape had done so much for him, more than he had ever asked. He was the only Death Eater Draco could trust, and his life meant a great deal. He had taught Draco some of the most important skills in wizardry there were, including Occlumency, which prohibited Voldemort from being able to see all his thoughts at the moment.

The silence went on for what felt like ages before Voldemort finally commanded everyone to go home and await further instructions. Draco rose to leave but was called back. The other Death Eaters vaporized out of the Malfoy Manor. He caught Snape frowning as he left Draco and Voldemort alone in the drawing room.

"I noticed you were particularly drawn to one of the Potters last night. Or at the very least, he somehow distracted you as you nearly hit their thestral."

 _Bloody hell._

"In fact, you also managed to harm a fellow Death Eater in your attempt to harm the Potter."

"Yes, I recall. Seeing multiple Potters was rather disorienting. I must have missed because everyone was moving around quickly. I apologize. I hope you can forgive the mistakes of a recently turned full wizard who has never been in a real battle before."

Draco could tell that Voldemort knew Draco was making excuses.

"You know what is also strange? Rodolphous's injury...inflicted by you while he was facing the Auror Tonks." The Dark Lord's eyes seemed to narrow. He turned his back to Draco and paced in the other direction.

"Yes, I apologize that I could not resist an opportunity to harm the brother of the man who was previously insulting me. That Tonks witch owes me her life, and it is a debt I will collect," Draco finished, acting as if he were bloodthirsty. Judging Voldemort's slightly relaxed posture (very slightly) he knew he had answered correctly.

"It was a night of surprising spectacles," the cold voice remarked. Voldemort suddenly spun to face Draco, who kept his eyes on the table. "I happen to recall that when I was trying to kill Potter, you finally caught up and tried to take down the sidecar, which was nearly falling. But it miraculously stayed intact, and Potter managed to stay in it as he used his wand to defend himself rather than hold the motorbike together. Isn't that rather strange?"

"My Lord, you have every right to suspect me as a traitor," Draco started, walking a dangerously thin line. "I understand I am the first guess in everyone's mind due to my parents' betrayal. But I am not so foolish as to underestimate your power or to support those with dirty blood. The last thing I need is to lose the Manor, the Malfoy name, and my wealth to scum. I am not suggesting Potter is skilled but it is entirely possible that he was using wandless magic to hold up the sidecar. Or perhaps there was someone behind me."

"There was," Voldemort affirmed without elaboration. Draco frowned. Whoever that person was could have been responsible for the death of Draco's broom.

"Who was it? I think he may have tried to kill me." That was probably the first thing Draco had said that wasn't meant to cover anything up.

"Another Potter. Not to worry, you shall get your opportunity for revenge. It is good that you understand my mistrust. It would be wise for you to similarly reserve your trust to yourself and to me. I believe you will be a great asset in the outcome of this war." Remaining expressionless, he concluded, "I hope, for your sake, that your speak truthfully."

"Of course, my Lord. You have my full confidence and loyalty, as you shall for the rest of my days."

Perhaps, since he was so good at it, Draco would become an actor in the Magicians of London Theater Troupe, originally founded by a Muggle, as if that weren't evident by the use of "magicians" in the title.

He wasn't naive, though, and knew that regardless of what he said, he would still be suspect number one until someone severely messed up. Thinking like the Slytherin he was, he could only hope that someone _would_ indeed mess up.

 **A/N: I've finally done it! Another chapter finally up after so bloody long! I hope you enjoyed it. I'm so glad to finally have had some free time today. But there shan't be more excuses. Feel free to fret for Draco. (Did you know, by the way, that draco is slang for a gun? That's very interesting...)**

 **As always, I encourage you all to share this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!**


	6. 6: Reminder

Harry and Hagrid were safely inside the home of Andromeda and Ted Tonks.

"Thank you," Harry told his hostess as she handed him a warm cup of tea.

"Not a problem," she replied with a smile.

There was a clambering on the steps as Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson came into Harry's view. All he could do was gape. A woman gently walked down behind them. She slightly resembled Theo so Harry presumed she was his mother. She smiled at Harry before leaving the room with the adults.

"We're glad you made it safely, Harry," Pansy told him, taking a set on the couch opposite him. Theo sat next to her. "Theo here was itching to go on the trip to Little Whinging, but we thought the number of Potters was best kept at seven."

"I appreciate it," Harry said, still uncertain how to interact with them, not having seen them since after fifth year. They probably hadn't been in touch with Malfoy, though, and they had consciously chosen to side with the Order. But speaking of Draco...

"Could you tell who was there?" Theo asked.

Harry nodded. "He was there, Theo." And then he voiced what confused him the most. "I think he saved us." His brows were furrowed, of which Pansy took note.

"You seem rather surprised."

With a sigh, Harry told them of last year's events.

"We did hear of Dumbledore's death," Pansy admitted, "from your own report to the Order. I don't believe Draco ever intended to kill the headmaster."

"He still caused me and Ron and many others a great deal of pain. But before Hagrid and I passed through the shield, You-Know-Who had nearly destroyed the sidecar I was sitting in. I should have fallen out at the very least, and so should have the sidecar. But I think Malfoy held me up wandlessly. Do you know if he was that advanced in magic?"

Pansy shrugged. "He took the initiative to become the best so he could be prepared to face one of the best."

"Dumbledore?"

They shook their heads.

"I see. You probably shouldn't have told me that since I'm still unskilled at Occlumency."

There was a pause before Theo said, "Are you going to the Burrow in a little bit?"

Harry nodded. "There'll be a Portkey soon since we just missed ours. My belongings are already there. Hopefully I'll see you two at Bill and Fleur's wedding?"

Pansy shrugged. "We're not sure if we can go yet, but most likely we'll be disguised, as will you."

"Harry?" It was Ted Tonks. "We're ready for you."

Harry said goodbye to his former classmates before leaving the room.

"Do you really think Draco tried to save him?" Theo asked Pansy. "Surely he would've been caught."

Pansy looked worried. "He would have if he deemed it necessary. I just hope he can explain it away."

Explaining it away was just what Draco had done, and Monday afternoon, mere hours from said explanation, Voldemort had requested Draco's presence in the living room. Draco waited quietly, alone. No doubt he was going to be taken on a mission. He could only hope that he wouldn't have to kill anyone to prove his loyalty. He wasn't sure if his conscience could handle that. Was it worth letting someone innocent die—no— _killing_ someone innocent so that Draco could serve a greater purpose and truly see Voldemort to his end? Because wouldn't that prevent more deaths? But at the same time, a life was still a life, and perhaps Draco would be able to escape unscathed. Or maybe both he and the innocent victim would die. That would be the worst case scenario.

Voldemort vaporized into the room. "Wand?"

Draco pulled it out.

"Excellent. I am not yet sure whether you will need it. You see, Draco," he began walking around the room, "I had believed that the reason I couldn't kill Potter was because our wands had the same core. But yesterday, even with Bellatrix's wand, there was still a connection of which I know not. The only remedy for our problem is to find the Elder Wand. Are you aware of what that is, Draco?"

He shook his head in response, although realizing that he was wrong before. Voldemort hadn't even thought about the Hallows, much less the Elder Wand, until now. So that couldn't have been his reason for wanting to get rid of Snape.

"It is the most powerful wand in the world," Voldemort stated. "And I shall need your help to acquire it."

"My help?" Draco echoed.

"Yes, the first person we must look for is the wandmaker Ollivander. Last year during Christmas, he was released from your dungeon with help from the Golden Trio."

Draco's face filled with false rage.

"Not to worry, we shall give them what they deserve when the time comes," Voldemort assured him. "No one seems to have any indication about where he may be, however."

"Surely he's hiding," Draco tried to contribute somewhat. "Perhaps he has been staying in the Leaky Cauldron."

"Then we shall check there first."

Draco wondered why he was allowed to make a suggestion that Voldemort had clearly thought of already.

"Let us go," said Voldemort.

With that, they both vaporized into the air and appeared in Diagon Alley. They flew down the street to the Leaky Cauldron's entrance into the alley and burst through the bricks into the inn, causing distress among the occupants. Draco followed Voldemort up to the first floor of the rooms and they landed on their feet. The Dark Lord blast open the first door to find a couple in love on the bed.

Draco wondered for a second if Voldemort would kill them, but he looked to be in a hurry because he continued to go through the rest of the doors on that side of the hall. Draco did the same on the other side, to no avail. They moved quickly through the rest of the floors before leaving the overturned place.

Although he had no clue where they were going, Draco kept hot on his master's tail.

"Hog's Head," Voldemort called, having slowed down just enough to let Draco hear, before taking off and vanishing.

Draco found himself in Hogsmeade and saw Voldemort storming in. He hoped Aberforth was in his office.

He wasn't.

"You don't want to kill me," the bearded man told the dark wizard. "I thought you wanted to keep alive as many non Muggle-born wizards as possible."

"You're a half-blood," Voldemort spat.

"So are you. The way I see it, I'm not in your way. I don't support either side of this war, as long as it's over as soon as possible." His eyes flew to Draco. "I see the young master Malfoy has joined your effort."

"Very wisely so, I must add," Voldemort told him. "Very wisely. Tell me, is Garrick Ollivander here?"

Aberforth shook his head. "I'm afraid the last I heard of the wandmaker was his kidnapping from his shop on Diagon Alley. I had presumed it was your doing."

Without answering him, Voldemort vaporized.

"Thank you, Aberforth," Draco told him.

"So you are his mission companion now," the other Dumbledore mused.

"I'm just grateful I haven't had to kill anyone yet."

"And if such a deed is asked for you, I must remind you there is no such sacrifice for the greater good." His eyes moved to the portrait of a girl that hung on the wall. "You must leave now."

Draco nodded and went back to the Manor. Voldemort wasn't there so the silver haired boy waited until the Dark Lord reappeared in his living room.

"It seems that Ollivander has slipped away to some unknown location," he informed Draco. "I am tasking you with tracing the Elder Wand through history. But first, we must prepare. As you know, the Death Eaters will meet tomorrow night to discuss our attack on Friday to take over the Ministry."

"Yes, my Lord. I shall have the drawing room in order."

"Good. You failed to disappoint me today." And just like that, he left.

 **A/N: Quick update! As always, I encourage you all to keeping sharing this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!**


	7. 7: Reality

The morning of the wedding, the Golden Trio had a visitor from the Ministry: the new Minister of Magic. Hermione, Harry, and Ron gathered in a row on a couch with Rufus Scrimgeour on a chair across from them. Hermione was quite irritated that the Ministry distrusted Dumbledore and the trio so much that they withheld the items stated in his will for a thirty-one day inspection!

"'To Ronald Bilius Weasley,'" Scrimgeour began to read, "'I leave my Deluminator, in the hope that he will remember me when he uses it.'That is a rather valuable, rather unique of Dumbledore's own design. Why would he have left you an item so rare? Dumbledore must have taught thousands of students, yet the only ones he remembered in his will are you three. Why is that? To what use did he think you would put to the Deluminator, Mr Weasley?"

"You don't think..." Hermione trailed off. She looked at the others. "You don't think Dumbledore meant him to..."

"Meant him to what, Miss Granger?"

"To turn off some lights?"

Although Harry and Ron snorted, Scrimgeour was not amused. He reluctantly handed the device to Ron and waited for him to try it out.

 _Click_.

All the lights in the room had been captured in the small box. With another click, they returned to their sources.

"That's bloody brilliant," Ron remarked.

Scrimgeour gave him a blank look before turning back to the will.

"'To Miss Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ , in the hope that she will find it entertaining and instructive.' Why do you think Dumbledore left you that book, Miss Granger?"

"Perhaps because I like books?"

"But why this particular book? Did you ever discuss codes or methods for passing hidden messages with Dumbledore?"

Were he not Rufus Scrimgeour, Hermione might have had trouble believing he was serious.

"Of course," Hermione said nonchalantly. "When he set up Dumbledore's Army to take over the Ministry, he occasionally taught us some secret codes he devised so we could carry on his plans after he was gone."

Scrimgeour's eyes went wide for a second before he realized Hermione was just making things difficult. He handed her the book.

"She's only joking," Harry assured him. He turned to her with a confused look. What could possibly have brought about this immense sarcasm?

The Minister shook his head and read on, "'To Harry James Potter, I leave the Snitch he caught in his first successful Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill.' I noticed that your birthday cake is in the shape of a snitch. Why is that?"

Before Harry could respond, Hermione replied, "Oh, it can't be a reference to the fact Harry's a great Seeker, that's way too obvious. There must be a secret message from Dumbledore hidden in the icing! What great magic, to be able to leave a message in a cake a month after dying!"

"Miss Granger, I am simply doing my job."

"Not really," Harry told him. "As far as I'm concerned, the Ministry's supposed to be stopping a certain dark wizard instead of making baseless speculations. His name's Voldemort, by the way, if you haven't heard yet." The name made Scrimgeour flinch.

"Here, take it, then." Scrimgeour gave Harry the Snitch and waited as Harry wrapped his fingers around the golden ball. Nothing happened.

"Ahem, very well. Finally, Dumbledore has left you all the Sword of Gryffindor. According to reliable historical sources, the sword may present itself to any worthy. That does not make it the exclusive property of any one of you. Why did he promise to you an object that was not his to give?"

"Maybe he thought it would look nice on my wall," Harry told him, now just as irritated as Hermione. He turned to Ron, who was playing with the Deluminator. The lights kept going on and off.

"Mr. Weasley!" Scrimgeour errupted, but the trio knew Ron wasn't the only reason he was frustrated. After taking a deep breath, he continued, "The Ministry has decided to keep the sword because it is a historical artifact rather than a single person's possession to be passed off."

"You can't do that!" Harry exclaimed, rising.

It was Hermione's turn to admonish him.

"I absolutely can and will," Scrimgeour asserted, standing as well. "These are the Ministry's rules."

"Do your rules say that dark magic is illegal? Because at the Ministry, surely you've got more pressing tasks than closely examining a few gifts from one of the greatest and most good wizards that ever lived!"

"You can't say 'most good,' Harry," Hermione whispered.

"He's kind of on a roll," Ron whispered back.

"Is there a problem?" spoke Arthur Weasley as he stepped into the room. "I heard someone call for Mr. Weasley."

"Very well," Scrimgeour said to Harry. "I see you have no degree of respect for what we do. Yes, Arthur, I was just leaving." With a glare, the Minister stalked off.

Arthur merely shrugged and followed him out.

"Why didn't it open?" Hermione demanded.

"The Snitch?" Ron said.

"It's supposed to open when it comes into contact with the person who originally touched it."

"Well, I wasn't going to try to hard in front of him," Harry told them. "Remember the game against Hufflepuff? The first game we won after I joined the team?"

"You nearly swallowed it, didn't you?" Ron recalled.

Harry slowly put the Snitch up to his mouth and words began to appear.

"I open at the close," he read. He looked at the others. "What in Merlin's beard does that mean?"

Meanwhile, Draco and the other Death Eaters were busy preparing for their invasion. There were eyes and ears all over the Ministry.

 _The Order isn't making this very difficult,_ he thought somewhat hopelessly.

The plan was to assume full control over the Ministry and then determine where Potter could be. And even if he was being well hidden, wherever, Hermione and Weasley were, Potter wouldn't be too far away.

Draco paused for a moment when Hermione came to his mind. She had seen him at the Battle of the Seven Potters, as Draco decided to call it. Did she still believe he was on the side of the light? He sure hoped so; she had always had faith in him. So had Luna, Pansy, Theo, Blaise, and Adrian. He wondered how they were all doing. Were they all preparing for the war? Or just getting ready to go back to Hogwarts or to surviving outside of school?

Voldemort had enough people in the Ministry surrounding the Minister under the Imperius curse or on his side. Draco and a small group of Death Eaters would accompany Voldemort into the Ministry with Yaxley's help. There, they would meet with Pius Thicknesse and other corrupt officials before storming the Minister's office. The Death Eaters hoped to interrogate as many as possible about where Potter might be.

Draco hoped that he wouldn't be asked to do more than stun or impede. He would've liked to hope that the coup wouldn't work but unfortunately, it was set up to work perfectly. Even if they couldn't learn where Potter was hiding, it would be a successful day. For the dark side.

He was in his room while the others were in the drawing room. Voldemort hadn't arrived yet so Snape was splitting them up into groups. Draco made sure everything in his room was concealed, just as always, and instructed Fawkes to fly to the Ministry immediately. He let Duchess follow him because she would probably be safer with him than in a cage in Draco's room.

"Don't let anyone see you," he told them before letting them leave.

Finally, once he checked that Marvolo Gaunt's ring was safely tucked away in one corner of the room and the Elder Wand in another, he swiftly left his room, locking it with a special enchantment, and _then_ the classic Alohomora.

He made his way down to the drawing room.

"At last, Draco," Snape said. "The Dark Lord has requested that you be on his team to find Potter." Draco glanced around the room. Each Death Eater that was going to the Ministry was in charge of a different group of Death Eaters that would leave after the fall of the Ministry to a main location for questioning or searching. There were four fairly large groups outside of the group that would be going to the Ministry because no one was sure how many areas could possibly be hiding Potter. He could have been hidden away with an Auror, the Weasleys, someone connected to a family member or friend in some way, all of which whom must have had their residences under great protection. When the Death Eaters had more information, the groups would be split up further or combined and directed to the most likely locations.

It wasn't a surprise that Draco was to go with Voldemort. He had to be much more careful than he had been on Sunday when they tried to intercept Potter and the Order.

This time, the Ministry was going down. There was nothing anyone could do to prevent it. And that meant that the war was officially on.

 **A/N: Depressing...and comical I hope, at the beginning I mean. If Draco has the Resurrection Stone, why would Dumbledore leave Harry the snitch he won (at the Hufflepuff game, remember from book 2 when Lucius was talking to Mr. Parkinson, not at Harry's first game, which Slytherin won)? Well, I suppose you'll have to wait to find out *insert evil looking emoji here***

 **I'm super excited to write the fall of the Ministry and the attack at the wedding next chapter. This chapter is the last one that will be titled with a word that starts with R. I honestly don't know why I did that because it wasn't supposed to mean anything, but the chapters from now on will be more distinguished.**

 **As always, I encourage you all to keeping sharing this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!**


	8. 8: Fall of the Ministry

The sun was still in the sky, the bird still nesting in the trees, chirping away as if there was no doom to behold. Draco took one last glance around his house before heading back inside.

"Are we ready?" he asked the group that had assembled in the foyer, the select group that would be taking down the Ministry with help from a lack of resistance among those who had been recruited or "convinced."

"Who put this punk in charge?" growled Rabastan, barely finishing his question as Draco placed the strangling curse on him.

"I might be the youngest here, but let's not forget whose home you are standing in." With that, Draco released the man who had climbed high on his "Draco Malfoy Will Provide A Most Satisfying Death For You" list. Well, the death would be provided for Rabastan and the others. It would be satisfying for Draco. This was written in fine print at the bottom of the list in case anyone got confused. Perhaps he would begin to call it the "Draco Malfoy Will Provide You With A Death That Will Be Most Satisfying For Him" list, but it was rather long. As long as Rabastan was on it though, Draco was fine.

"We will be on our way as soon as—" Draco paused when he saw the devil he was about to mention arrived. "My Lord," Draco said, nodding his head, "we are all assembled here."

"Excellent," Voldemort spoke. "Then let this day be known hereafter as the day the quest for purity began!"

The Death Eaters erupted in cheers but were quickly silenced with a wave from their master.

"And now, to the Ministry."

Voldemort vaporized away first, and everyone else followed immediately, save for Draco, who ensured no one would be left behind. He then left himself and appeared in the office of Pius Thicknesse. It was rather small and barely held all its occupants, but upon Voldemort's instruction, Thicknesse led them out of the office and towards the office of the Minister.

Voldemort and Thicknesse walked side by side, Draco directly behind them. They passed several Ministry employees with mixed reactions. Draco could tell who was on their side out of choice, out of fear, and under the curse, as well as who needed to be "taken care of." Not a single witch or wizard tried to stop them. Some obviously didn't want to, and others were too afraid to single-handedly take on a group of powerful Death Eaters and Voldemort himself, especially since they didn't know if their own colleagues could be trusted to join in.

The journey to the Minister's office was rather brisk, and in turn, very brief. The Death Eaters dispersed at various points to question officials linked to the Order and establish their authority. Upon reaching the final destination, Draco and Thicknesse were the only ones left with the Dark Lord. Voldemort held out his arm to halt them before pointing his wand at the door and blasting it open.

From behind the Dark Lord, Draco could see Rufus Scrimgeour rise instantly, as if he had just sat on a spring.

"You are not welcome here," he declared, as if that would help. His eyes then met Thicknesse's.

"Pius?" he was shocked, of course. But before he could further express his disbelief, Voldemort demanded:

"Where is Harry Potter?"

"I don't know," Scrimgeour replied.

"Crucio!"

The Minister dropped to the floor in pain.

"Allow me to repeat myself. Where is Harry Potter?"

"I...don't...know!" he managed to choke out.

"Lies!" Voldemort stopped the torture for a moment. "You see, Thicknesse here has let me in on a little secret—Dumbledore's will. And if I am not mistaken, you recently visited Harry Potter and his friends to carry out the late headmaster's wishes. So I will repeat one more time. Where. Is. Harry. Potter."

"I am not at liberty to disclose that information."

"Crucio!"

To Draco and Thicknesse, Voldemort commented, "How pitiful, thinking his life is worth less than that of a traitorous muggle-loving half-blood."

The Minister of Magic was clenching every part of his body in pain. Draco already knew Voldemort had no plans to keep him alive. He wondered if he was an accessory to this murder. He could definitely save Scrimgeour, but at what cost? Was it worth it to save one man to save Draco's conscience? Then again, he'd already let Charity Burbage and some other unfortunate wizards and witches die. There was no point, was there? If Draco stepped in now, he could no longer be of assistance.

"Looks like he won't serve us any purpose," the Dark Lord shrugged and struck the Minister with a swift "Avada Kedavra!"

"How do you like your new office?" he asked Thicknesse, who just grinned menacingly in return. The two of them left the office, Draco right behind them.

The trio rushed through the hall in pursuit of the other Death Eaters. They first encountered Crabbe and Goyle Sr.

"What have you found out?" Voldemort demanded.

"Nothing," Crabbe Sr answered.

"Useless fools!" he roared in response. From another direction, the Carrows approached the group.

Alecto spoke, "We have discovered how to dismantle the Burrow's defenses."

"The Burrow is currently the most likely location of Harry Potter," her brother added.

"Well done," Voldemort told them. "Draco, Alecto, and I will return to the Manor and take a large group to the Weasleys' home. Thicknesses, Goyle will assist you in assuming your new position as Minister. Crabbe and Amycus, check what the others have found before you all return to collect your groups at the Manor. Amycus, of course, you will be joining us as soon as possible."

The five of them rushed off in two different directions as Draco and his master vaporized back to Malfoy Manor's drawing room.

"Severus, your company with me," Voldemort announced as soon as he arrived. "To the Burrow. But we must arrive from afar. Keep in your mind the location pictured by our spies."

Voldemort left first, then the company, and lastly Draco. He arrived to find a giant tent that was surrounded by a shield that some Death Eaters were trying to penetrate, catching the attention of some guards.

"Patience, Macnair!" Snape told him as Alecto began to undo some charms from behind the bushes. After a few seconds, Amycus arrived and explained the charms to the group before he, Snape, and Draco began removing charms. From where they were, Draco sensed that the guards did not perceive anything to be off nor could they see the Death Eaters.

Draco wondered what the giant tent was for, but he knew that there must have been a ton of people inside. Hopefully, if Hermione was there, she would get away quickly.

In fact, Hermione _was_ there. She was mingling with some of the guests from Bill and Fleur's wedding. She felt a little bad for leaving Ron behind with his Auntie Muriel, but surely she wasn't that awful. Harry had disappeared quite some time ago and for the love of Merlin, Hermione could not remember what "Cousin Barny" looked like.

Suddenly, a white and blue light shot through the roof of the tent, as visible by both the wedding guests and the Death Eaters.

"Ready?" Voldemort said to the company.

Inside the tent, Hermione saw the light form into a lynx. From it, Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice boomed, "The Ministry has fallen. The Minister of Magic is dead. They are coming."

The crowd began to panic. And then they came.

Wisps of black broke into the tent from all around, causing people to apparate away. Hermione frantically looked around for Ron and Harry, whom she spotted from a distance with his disguise almost off. But most particularly, she was looking for Draco.

The Death Eaters landed and began rounding up all the witches and wizards they could, stripping them of their wands. Draco saw Arthur and Molly Weasley searching for their children. He saw Ron Weasley pushing through some guests, incapacitating a Death Eater. He saw a redhead turning into Harry Potter so Draco quickly averted his eyes. But where was Hermione?

Then they locked eyes, from across several tables. Weasel came out of nowhere and tugged on Hermione's arm. Lupin was trying to turn Potter towards his friends. Rabastan flew backwards into Draco, who was able to stop him before any damage could occur. When he pushed his uncle aside, the Golden Trio was gone.

A/N: Finally, I posted another one! I've been working on this forever but now it's here, Hope you like it!

As always, I encourage you all to keeping sharing this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!


	9. 9: Spattergroit

Draco sighed and helped collect those who had yet to apparate. The Death Eaters were interrogating everyone who was left, but no one was harmed since no one was muggle-born. Voldemort, upon realizing that Potter was gone, had departed the reception without warning. As far as Draco knew, the other groups of Death Eaters were out breaking into Order members' homes to determine Potter's location.

"Check the house!" yelled Bellatrix as she and Alecto walked down the tent. Draco nearly groaned and decided to go with them. He followed the two witches into the Burrow and up the stairs.

"No, Bellatrix, you check this floor," Alecto commanded. Bellatrix merely cackled and branched off to explore.

"Draco," Alecto turned to him, "I'm sure you wouldn't mind checking the bedrooms while I go up to the attic."

"Sure," he replied. That task was indeed perfect. Of course, he didn't find anything...until he found Hermione and Weaslette's room. Ginny Weasley's side seemed a bit cluttered, with some clothes lying around, but Hermione's side was spotless. Draco checked her wardrobe only to find it empty. The only reason Draco even knew Hermione had been here was that she had once told him about the summers she spent at the Burrow and that she always stayed with Ginny. It seemed that Hermione knew that she, Potter, and Weasley might have to leave without a moment's notice and had everything packed for days.

Draco sat down on her bed and wondered where she could be, if she was safe, and under what circumstances they would see each other again. If there was anyone who could possibly ease Draco's conscience about all the suffering Draco had witnessed and done nothing to stop, it would be Hermione.

"Bloody Baron," Draco heard Alecto muttering as her footsteps got closer. He immediately rose and walked out.

"All clear," he reported. "I take it you found nothing in the attic?"

"On the contrary," the Carrow sister replied. "Looks like one of the Weasleys has got spattergroit."

"How pleasant," Draco cringed. The two encountered Bellatrix at the bottom of the stairs, messing around with the Weasleys' furniture.

"That's enough, Aunt Bella," Draco told her. "The Dark Lord won't be too pleased to know you're wasting time."

The witch dropped a chair back onto the floor and cackled as she ran out to the tent. When Draco and Alecto caught up with her, they informed the other Death Eaters what they had found.

Draco unconsciously caught the eyes of each Weasley as they glared at the Death Eaters from where all the reception guests were lined up. Ron Weasley wasn't among them, of course. Draco had seen him find Hermione before the Golden Trio vanished.

"Spattergroit?" someone exclaimed. "For Salazar's sake!"

Rabastan turned to Draco. "So, which one of them is that? They all look the same to me."

Draco just shrugged.

"What about the one in your year?" Amycus asked. "Is that one here?"

Draco gave the Weasleys a once over for show and shook his head. "Ron Weasley isn't here. He must be the sick one."

"Yes," Arthur Weasley stepped forward, "it's our son, Ron, who's gotten sick. Now, what's it to you? You'd like a case of spattergroit yourself, is that it?"

"Defensive as always, Arthur," Snape spoke up. "Now, moving on—"

"Wait a second!" Rabastan interrupted. "I swear I saw Ron Weasley at the reception."

"You can't tell them apart, for crying out loud," Draco told him, "so how can you be sure of that?"

"Well..." Rabastan trailed off.

"I didn't see him here at all," Draco declared. "You must've seen one of them or a cousin or something." He pointed to the Weasleys.

"Moving on!" Snape tried again. "You Weasleys claim to not know the current whereabouts of Harry Potter, but do you confirm that he was here before?"

"We don't answer to murderers," Weaslette spat.

Snape narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw as he leaned in closer to the girl. "I suggest you quickly determine your chances of survival in a situation with multiple _murderers_ in charge. Then we'll see if answering us is your best option."

He backed up and said, "No one shall leave until we have learned what we need to know. There will be no movement, no discussion, and if I hear so much as a breath or a sob, there will be consequences."

Just then, two Death Eaters entered the tent with Luna and Xenophilius Lovegood bound up.

"These two live just over the hill," one Death Eater said.

The other added, "No sign of Potter there, but this is the one that's been writing all that nonsense in the Quibbler. Big fan o' Dumbledore, eh?"

Luna just looked around while her father kept his mouth shut.

"You know," Amycus began, "I do believe there is a lesson to be learned here." He approached Luna and gently caressed her cheek. Luna stood still and looked off into space.

The Carrow brother stepped back. "Take the girl back to the Manor."

"No!" Xenophilius exclaimed. "You can't! You can't take my Luna!"

"Easy does it," Amycus said. "All you have to do in order to get your daughter back is inform us when Harry Potter comes to your home. After all, your Quibbler is proof that he can find support in you and your readers. Once Potter's in our hands, we'll return your precious Luna."

The Death Eaters all laughed as Luna was removed from the premises. Just before she left, she made eye contact with Draco, sealing his unspoken promise to help her.

Within the hour, everyone had been questioned and sent home, and the Death Eaters returned to Malfoy Manor.

Voldemort had once more called them all into the drawing room to discuss the night's events.

Once they were all in place, he began, "Despite Potter's disappearance, it has been a rather successful night. I am now in control of the Ministry, and thus, we are one step closer to ridding the Wizarding World of its impurities!"

His exclamation elicited cheers from around the room, but they were quickly silenced.

"The homes of all the Aurors and Order members have been overturned. I hear a great effort was spent on Diggle."

"We burned his house good!" someone called out, causing some laughter.

"I also understand those of who went to the Tonks' household never returned?" Voldemort turned to Draco, who gave the affirmation.

"Hmm. They shall be in for quite a surprise if they are found. But they are not our priority. Where are Rowle and Dolohov?"

"My Lord," Snape spoke, "they must still be out after Potter."

"Weren't they on Manor duty?" Draco asked.

"You see, my followers," the Dark Lord explained, "I have placed a curse on the feared name of Lord Voldemort so that we can track whoever dares utter it. And you all know, of course, only the people we are looking for would attempt such a thing. So when we were notified that someone spoke my name, I sent Rowle and Dolohov to determine who the violators were."

"It has been some time since they departed," Alecto spoke.

Draco wondered how she and Snape were informed of this before he was. He decided he wanted to participate further. "My Lord, where did they go? I can go check on them."

"Tottenham Court Road," Voldemort answered. "I find your initiative quite well placed. You shall accompany me to our location. The rest of you are dismissed for now."

 **A/N: Finally an update! Sorry to keep you all waiting but here you go! School is coming to an end and I've already begun writing the next chapter so expect a quick update on this one. Thanks so much for sticking with me for this long!**

 **As always, I encourage you all to keeping sharing this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!**


	10. 10: Tottenham Court Road

As soon as the Golden Trio disapparated from the wedding reception, they had to run off a road to avoid a bus.

"Where exactly are we?" Harry asked Hermione as they made their way down the street.

"Tottenham Court Road," she replied. "I used to come to the theater here with Mum and Dad." Just thinking of her parents caused tears to invade her eyes. "Quickly, this way." She led them into an alley and began pulling clothes out of her handbag.

"Blimey, Hermione, how did you get those to fit in there?" Ron nearly yelled.

"Undetectable Extension Charm. I've had all the essentials packed for days, just in case."

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry told her as he accepted his outfit.

Suddenly, a corporeal patronus in the form of a weasel appeared. In Arthur Weasley's voice, it spoke, "Family safe. Do not reply. We are being watched."

Ron sighed with relief. "That's great. Hopefully they know we're fine."

Hermione nodded and told them, "Now find some space behind one of these dumpsters," before pulling out her own clothes. There was a thump inside the purse. She realized aloud, "That'll be the books."

Once they were all changed, they made there way to a coffee shop where Hermione ordered three cappuccinos for them.

"What about all the people at the wedding?" Harry wondered. "Shouldn't we go back?"

"They're looking for _you_ , mate," Ron told him. "We're better off where we are. Now, where do we go from here? Leaky Cauldron?"

Hermione shook her head. "Too dangerous. If Voldemort really has taken over the Ministry, then none of the old places are safe." She lowered her voice as two men in construction uniforms walked in through the doors.

"So?" Ron prompted her. "Where else can we think of?"

"DUCK!" Harry yelled just as he saw one of the men slip a wand out of his sleeve. They all whipped out there wands and engaged in a very brief battle, the trio quickly wiping out the two wizards.

Just then, the waitress that had taken their order came out from the back and gasped in shock.

"Go!" Hermione demanded. "Leave!"

The woman obeyed without a word, running off.

The trio approached the two wizards they had just beat.

Harry motioned to one. "That one's Dolohov, I think. He was at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries."

"And I'm pretty sure the other one's Rowle," Ron said. "My father once mentioned a Ministry case against him and I saw his picture."

"How did they find us?" Hermione wondered.

Ron shrugged. "I dunno, but we've got to do something."

"Erase their memories," Harry told them as he closed the windows of the shop and locked the door.

Hermione stepped up to the two Death Eaters and muttered, "Obliviate."

"Let's get out of here," Harry said.

"Maybe we should tidy up a bit?" Ron suggested, only eliciting weird looks from his friends. "Alright, alright, let's go."

Three hands met in the middle and they apparated away just as Draco and Voldemort appeared outside the coffee shop.

"It's closed," Draco noted.

"It seems that way," his master spoke as he unlocked the door. "He may still be in here, in which case, you will have to take on whomever he is with."

"Of course, my Lord." Draco could only hope that the trio had made it out of there already.

Voldemort cautiously opened the door so that he could take Potter by surprise, but the interior was completely dark.

"Lumos maxima." Draco's wand lit up the whole shop. There were a few overturned tables and fallen over chairs, indicating the occurrence of some altercation. He and Voldemort carefully stepped past the mess to the back of the shop, where Death Eaters Dolohov and Rowle rested unconsciously on the floor.

"Renner—"

"Wait," Voldemort interrupted Draco. "I shall check their memories first." He dived inside each of their minds while Draco examined the surroundings for anything the trio might have left behind. They both found nothing.

"Rennervate," Draco woke up the Death Eaters.

As Rowle came to, he realized who was standing in front of him and instantly stood. "My Lord," he greeted with a bow. Dolohov quickly followed suit, but then they both looked around.

"My Lord," Dolohov began, "where are we?"

Draco sighed. "Well, you know the Dark Lord does not take failures lightly."

"N-no, of course not!" Rowle sputtered.

"I should kill you both right now," Voldemort told them, "but I have more pressing matters to attend to. Draco, please see to it that they are properly punished and returned to their homes before I change my mind."

"Yes, my Lord," Draco nodded as the Dark Lord vaporized away. He then turned to the two Death Eaters. "I suppose this is your lucky day."

With that, he hit them both with a stunning curse and began working on altering their memories to show that Draco had tortured them with a variety of painful curses. He then transported them back to Malfoy Manor and placed them under Wormtail's care.

"Send these fools home," Draco instructed. "I suspect they'll want some rest now." He added in a dark laugh before leaving the servant and his scowling countenance.

When Wormtail disappeared, Draco made his way down to the dungeons.

"Luna!" he exclaimed when he saw her. She smiled when he entered. "Hello, Draco, and before you say anything else, I'd like to let you know that there was nothing you could do."

"I know, but I can now." When Draco had shoved Rowle and Dolohov into Wormtail's arms, he had casually slipped his hand into the rat's pocket and taken out the key. He took that key out and unlocked the first cell, which contained Luna. He then locked the cell, relieved that Voldemort had mandated the cell system to be updated so they wouldn't have to lock and unlock every single cell when they only needed one.

"How will you explain this?" Luna asked.

"Don't worry about it. Erm, you don't know how to apparate yet, do you?"

Luna shook her head as Draco realized he didn't either, as he had been too busy for the classes last year.

"Well, I supposed I'll just have Wormtail take you. He's been to your house before."

Luna followed Draco out of the dungeon, saying, "I trust you."

Moments later, Wormtail appeared in front of Draco, who immediately Imperiused the man. "Take Luna home and tell her father that if questioned, he should say he found Luna outside walking home."

Fortunately, Wormatil did as told and returned in a timely manner, allowing Draco to change the memory in Wormtail's mind so that it seemed like he dropped his key right into Luna's cell as he rushed out of the dungeon upon hearing Draco. After dropping off the Death Eaters, Wormtail, in accordance with the false memory, was Imperiused by Luna to take her home.

As Wormtail shook his head and started recovering from the mind invasion, Draco made it appear as if he were coming down the stairs.

"What's all the racket?" Draco demanded.

"What?"

Wormtail still seemed out of it, so Draco pushed him further. "I thought I heard someone else a bit ago and now there's no one. What are you up to, rat?"

Draco noted the newly arrived look of shock on Wormtail's face as the former Gryffindor realized what his memory told him he had done.

"I really don't want to call the Dark Lord and have him kill the both of us for finding nothing. So I'll repeat myself: what are you up to?"

Wormtail didn't speak.

"Imperio!" Draco instructed Wormtail to tell him what had happened, according to his memory. Once he blabbed, Draco dragged him to the dungeons and noted that Luna wasn't there before acting angry.

"The Dark Lord will hear about this!" Draco drew Wormtail's left arm and touched the Dark Mark with his wand. Within moments, Voldemort was in front of them.

"Draco Malfoy, this had better be worth my time."

"My Lord, it seems Wormtail has let our prisoner escape," Draco told him, acting outraged. "He must be punished!"

Wormtail hung his head low and attempted to apologize.

Voldemort didn't show any expression on his face as he said, "Silence! Wormtail, you'll come with me now. Draco, you may retire for the day. I will attend to the matter."

"Yes, my Lord," Draco agreed with a bow. The Dark Lord and his unfortunate servant vanished.

Draco brushed off his robe with a smug look before heading upstairs.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's already chapter 10 and they haven't even hit September so this will probably be a long book, especially with all of Draco's adventures added in. But I'm super excited about what's to come and hopefully you guys are too!**

 **As always, I encourage you all to share this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!**


	11. 11: The Sword

The Golden Trio appeared with a crack in front of a familiar building. There was a rumble as number 12 Grimmauld Place broke out from between 11 and 13.

Hermione raised her wand as she opened the door and walked in. "Lumos," she whispered. The hallway ahead was clear so she beckoned for Harry and Ron to follow her.

The quietly made their way into the living room and turned on the lights.

"Let's get some rest," Herimone suggested. "We've had a taxing day."

With a yawn, Ron asked, "What time is it?"

"Must be after midnight," Harry told him. "C'mon, I'll take the armchair."

Hermione made her way across the room. "I'll be back with some pillows and blankets." She climbed the stairs slowly, just in case Kreacher was still around, and found herself back in her old room. She grabbed the necessities from her and Ginny's old beds as well as the spares in the wardrobe before returning to the living room.

"Here," she handed out the bedding. "I'll take the couch, if you don't mind, Ronald."

The redhead just shrugged. "That's fine, I was going to ask if you can transfigure this table into a mattress."

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem."

"Alright, I'm off to the loo."

"Harry, can you help me with this?" No response. "Harry?" Hermione looked over to find her best friend staring off into space as he mindlessly situated an ottoman at the foot of the reclining chair.

"Harry!"

He jolted and turned to her. "Sorry, I was just remembering..."

"Sirius?" Hermione guessed.

"I hadn't heard a single thing about him since he was captured. And then the Daily Prophet at the end of last year published that article about "the rightful death of a fugitive," but who knows if that was just Death Eater propaganda? On the other hand, maybe I'm being too hopeful."

"There's no such thing as too much hope," Hermione said. "I mean, it hurts when you're disappointed, but it's better than thinking negatively the whole time and therefore not putting in any effort."

Harry sighed as he sat down. "And what about you? You must really miss your family."

 _And Draco_ , she thought.

"After this war is over, I plan to go to Australia and give them their memories back."

Frowning, Harry asked, "Can that be done?"

"Not to my knowledge. But I have to figure it out." Hermione finished transfiguring the table into a bed.

"Oh, sorry, I should have helped you," Harry told her.

"It's fine. Anyway, I've been thinking how there's no way their memories are really gone forever."

"Hope," Harry simply said.

"Hope," Hermione repeated.

"Hope," Ron spoke as he re-entered the room. "Clearly I missed something."

"Just remembering our family," Hermione explained.

Ron approached the makeshift bed. "Thanks, Hermione." As soon as they were all settled, he turned off the lights with the Deluminator and they were fast asleep with no idea who was also asleep just up the stairs.

The following morning, Draco woke to the sound of clanging down below. Groaning, he pulled on a robe and made his way downstairs.

"For Merlin's sake, what the bloody hell is that?" he shouted as he approached the kitchen. To his surprise, it was Wormtail fumbling around while Snape was putting together a potion.

"You're still alive," Draco noted, looking at the rat, who gave him an evil grin in return.

"And thanks to his insolence, he's under MY care," Snape grumpily informed him. "Wormtail, for the three-hundred and ninety-fourth time, put that down!"

Peter Pettigrew's grin turned into a glare as he placed a flask on the counter.

"Can we just keep him in the dungeon?" Draco asked his former professor.

"Unfortunately, no. The Dark Lord wills him to be watched at all times."

An awkward silence spread as Wormtail kept glaring and Snape went back to his potion.

"I'll be back in fifteen minutes," Draco finally spoke, ready to get out of there and take a shower.

As Draco began heading up the stairs, he heard a crash and a thud. With a sigh, he returned to the kitchen to see Snape directing some broken glass into a trash can. And Wormtail was on the floor.

"His incompetence is rather timely," Snape remarked. "Come, there is something we must attend to."

"I just woke up," Draco complained.

"And I have not slept."

Draco rolled his eyes as he attempted to glimpse into the cauldron. "So what's this for? Didn't Wormtail see the ingredients?"

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I am more cautious than you would like to believe." He poured some of the potion into a flask and stoppered it. "I need you to visit my home and retrieve the sword of Godric Gryffindor."

There was a pause. "I'm sorry, what was that? The _missing_ sword of Godric Bloody Gryffindor? And what do you propose you'll do with that?"

"Just do it. Once you're there, you'll know where to find it."

"Brilliant. You'd best hope that our beloved master doesn't suddenly show up while I'm spending hours searching for something that's lost." With that, Draco vanished into the air and reappeared in Spinner's End.

"You'll know where to find it," Draco mocked to himself as he took in the surroundings. The skull was gone from the mantle. He remembered seeing Bellatrix play with it on two separate occasions since her personality was apparently restored, and this made him uneasy.

Why couldn't Snape himself have come to retrieve the sword? Unless Voldemort would know if Snape and Wormtail were separated. But his directions to find it were useless anyway.

Suddenly, a shimmery figure appeared in front of him and seemed to beckon him. The figure, which Draco deduced was a patronus in the form of a doe, led him outside to Snape's backyard. Ahead of him was a large pasture that seemed to go on until a creek surrounded by a small wood. Draco followed the doe to the creek and over the rocks to the other side until he came upon a modest abandoned house. Slowly, he approached the front door as he slipped his wand out. The doe entered straight through the side of the house so Draco stepped through the open door. He watched as the doe sank into one of the floorboards.

What was it with people and hiding treasured or valuable items under the floorboards?

"Lumos maxima," he muttered, lighting up the whole room. He pointed to the floorboard and spoke, "Diffindo." The board split into pieces, which Draco carefully levitated away. Carefully, he inched forward until the sword of Godric Gryffindor came into his view. Pulling out his wand, he said, "Accio sword!"

He knew it wouldn't work, but the last thing he wanted was to lose his hand the moment he stuck it under the floor. Surely, Snape wouldn't send him to retrieve something so well guarded without instructions, but he also wouldn't leave something so priceless out in the open.

He attempted to levitate the wand and tried just about every other spell he could think of to retrieve the sword or get rid of protective enchantments before realizing magic wouldn't help him. Ever so slowly, Draco held out his wand and began inching it into the hole.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack and a burst of light as Draco flew back. He hit the wall with a thud and instantly rushed forward. The sword was still there, and lying next to it was half of Draco's wand. He reluctantly glanced down at his hand to find the other half of the wand.

It was always difficult to deal with losing a wand, but when he realized that his wand, Merlin's wand, was destroyed, he could only feel the agony of losing his only daily reminder of the legacy he was living up to, the thing that shaped his ambition, his whole person.

And there it was, split in two pieces.

Without thinking, he reached his hand into the hole and pulled out the other half of the wand.

"That's strange," he remarked upon seeing that his hand was unharmed. He reached back in, cautiously, for the sword, and pulled it out without a problem. He frowned. What had just happened?

Quickly, he pulled out the Elder wand and attempted to mend Merlin's wand.

"Reparo! Otero! Episkey?" He continued to use every spell he could recall, but even the Elder wand couldn't help him.

With a sigh, he collected the pieces, hid the Elder wand, grabbed the sword, and made his way back to Snape's house, from where he vaporized back to the manor.

"Thanks a lot," Draco spat, throwing the sword at Snape's feet, followed by the two broken bits of wand.

The former potions master remained expressionless as he picked them up and asked, "Did you not remember to undo the enchantments?"

"I undid every one I could think of! I even sent sparks into the space under the floorboard and they went straight through so I thought I would stick my wand down there rather than my hand and it just snapped."

Furrowing his brows, Snape said, "You should have been able to retrieve the wand if the sparks went through."

"Well, I couldn't so never mind that anymore. How do I fix it?"

"It can't be fixed, Draco, you understand that."

"But it has to be!" Draco couldn't just walk around using the Elder Wand, and he wouldn't settle for some average wand. "I'll figure it out. Although it should be interesting when the Dark Lord asks what happened to my wand." He took the wand pieces back and gestured to the sword. "Now, will you tell me what you're up to?"

Snape lay the sword on the counter and began sprinkling the potion on top. With his wand, he ensured levitated the sword and ensured that all of it was covered. Unexpectedly, another sword grew out of the old one until there were two separate ones. Snape took the new sword by the hilt and conjured a sheath for it before shrinking them both. He tucked the sheathed sword into his robe and grabbed the real sword.

"Take this back where you found it and place the following enchantments on the area," Snape instructed, handing Draco a piece of parchment. "When school begins, I will put the fake sword in the headmaster's office to pass off as the real one to both sides of the war."

"Bloody fantastic," Draco groaned.

After completing Snape's task without being harmed, Draco returned home to find it empty. With a glance out the window at the bright sun, he made his way back up the stairs and flopped into his bed.

 **A/N: I felt almost as bad about destroying Draco's wand as he felt about losing it. How is he supposed to do magic in front of others? How will he regain the most important part of himself? Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **As always, I encourage you all to share this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!**


	12. 12: RAB

Hermione awoke to the scent of fresh fruit and waffles. She looked around to find the boys still fast asleep so she rose and followed her nose. She was led to the kitchen where Sirius was cooking breakfast.

"Morning, Sirius," she said absent-mindedly.

"Morning, Hermione."

Then she realized. "Sirius?!"

"Not dead, just transported." The man grinned, looking well rested. He checked his watch. "Hmm, Ollivander should be back soon with the paper."

"Ollivander's here?" Hermione exclaimed. "Hold on, I'm not properly awake to be hearing all of this. I'll be back."

She went back to the other living room to make her bed and wake the boys.

"Harry, Ron, come on, breakfast's cooking."

"Idontwannatapdance," murmured Ron.

"Erm, alright then," Hermione decided. "Harry!" she whisper-yelled in his ear with a nudge but not one motion. Whipping out her wand, she said, "Rennervate."

Harry gasped and his eyes shot open. "Blimey, Hermione, what's so" _yawn_ "important that I need to be up?"

"Breakfast, Harry!" she told him before rushing to the bathroom to get ready. When she was done, she found Harry nearly falling asleep at the door.

"Don't take too long," she told him. "There's a surprised waiting for you."

"Is it a Horcrux?"

Hermione rolled her eyes before walking to the kitchen.

On the table were five plates. A stack of waffles was in the middle next to a bowl of fruit. Hermione plucked a grape as she sat down and helped herself.

"Harry should be here soon. And Ron...well, we'll see about that."

Just then, a familiar face strode into the room.

"Ollivander!"

"Ah, Miss Granger!" the old man greeted. "Much thanks for your help last Christmas and my apologies for your subsequent circumstances."

"Wait, how did you know about that? Was it Draco? You've heard from him?" She knew she sounded desperate, but she was.

"Heard from him?" Sirius repeated. "He moved us here from the Hog's Head earlier this summer."

"Do you still keep in touch?"

"Oh, no," Ollivander said, "that would be too dangerous. He put Aberforth in charge of us until we figured out a way to leave the property and return undetected."

"Who's—"

"Sirius."

Hermione spun around to see Harry, a mix of shock, relief, and joy displayed on his features.

"That would be me," his godfather replied.

"You're, you're—"

"Alive, and quite well, thanks to—"

"Ahem," Hermione cleared her throat. "Well, don't just stand there, Harry, I'm sure you're happy to see him!"

"Um, yeah, of course, sorry. I'm in a bit of shock, as it were," Harry rambled.

"Not to worry," Sirius told him. "I've got just the remedy." He turned to the side and presented the breakfast table.

"Thanks." Harry plopped down next to Hermione and served himself.

"So it must be quite boring around here," Hermione remarked.

Ollivander nodded. "There's not really anything we can do. We can't trust anyone, especially after what happened to Mad-Eye Moody."

"You heard about that?" Harry said. "About bloody Mundungus Fletcher sacrificing the best Auror we had?"

"Let me tell you," Sirius explained, "Polyjuice Potion can be quite effective when collecting gossip from the underworld. These days it's hard to determine who knows what and how they know it, and most importantly, what they plan on doing with that information. Not to mention that creep was here not too long ago."

"He was here?" Harry repeated. "What did he want?"

Sirius shrugged. "I came downstairs just to catch him smirk and apparate away. I searched to see if anything was missing and could not find some old dinnerware we used to keep in here."

Ollivander continued, "We are, of course, willing to help you in any way we can. I don't suppose you plan on returning to Hogwarts, do you?"

"We can't," Hermione told him. "There's a task Dumbledore entrusted to us before he died."

Harry rose from his chair. "There's this locket," he began as he walked out of the kitchen.

Hermione picked up where he left off. "Harry went with Dumbledore to find it in this old abandoned cave with enchantments placed by Tom Riddle years ago. This locket was supposed to be a Horcrux."

Ollivander gasped. "So that's how he survived."

"Yes, but the locket they found—"

"I DON'T WANT TO TAP DANCE!"

Ron must have had his spiders in charge nightmare. Hermione called, "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, he was just, erm, startled!" Harry responded too quickly.

"Anyway," Hermione turned back to the men and spoke, "the locket they found was a fake. We found a note inside. Harry's getting it for you. It was from an ex-follower named R.A.B."

"R.A.B?" Sirius repeated. "Interesting..."

"Oh, and before Harry gets back, I wanted to ask you not to mention Draco. Ever since the battle of the Department of Mysteries, I'm afraid he's still susceptible to You-Know-Who."

"Not to worry, my dear," Ollivander assured her. "He's done quite a bit for the war effort. We wouldn't want to hinder him in any way."

"Hinder who?" Ron asked as he stumbled into the room, followed by Harry.

"They wouldn't want to hinder Harry," Hermione jumped in. "They won't tattle on us for not going to school this year."

Harry approached Sirius. "Here's the locket. I'm sure Hermione's filled you in."

"Erm, yes," he answered, taking the locket from Harry, "she mentioned a note."

"It's inside."

Sirius opened the locket and pulled out the note. They all watched him in silence as he seemed to go over the note a couple times.

"I know who wrote this." His tone was solemn. "Regulas Arcturus Black. My younger brother."

"He was a Death Eater," Hermione realized.

"And he certainly must have regretted it."

"Have you ever seen the real locket around here?" Harry asked.

Sirius shook his head. "But I bet I know someone who has answers. Kreacher!"

With a crack, the old house-elf appeared before them.

"Yeah, he's been somewhat of a nuisance," Sirius explained, "so I told him to never cross my path unless I asked for him."

"That's cruel!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Is this really the time for your elf rights speech?" Ron asked through a mouthful of waffles.

"No time is ever wrong to discuss rights," Hermione asserted.

"They may have rights," Sirius conceded, "but like humans, they don't all deserve them." Ignoring Hermione's jaw hitting the floor, he turned to Kreacher. "Have you ever seen a locket like this before? Perhaps something to do with my brother?"

"Master Regulus," the creature uttered. "He was a proper master. Didn't drag any filth into his home."

"Kreacher!"

"That's Master Regulus's locket."

"But there were two, weren't there?" Harry demanded. "Where's the other one?"

"It was here, in this house."

"Was? Where is it now?"

"Did someone take it?" Sirius asked.

"He took many things, including the locket," Kreacher told them.

"Why are we playing the pronoun game? Just tell us who took it!" Ron insisted.

"Mundungus Fletcher."

The five wizards looked at each other.

Hermione said, "Well, Sirius, if you hadn't told him to stay away from you, you would've known about the locket before."

Sirius commanded Kreacher, "Find him."

 _CRACK!_

Ron snickered. "Sounds like Malfoy's broom on the day we transported Harry."

"What?" Hermione said immediately.

"I mean, he was practically helping You-Know-Who kill Harry, so I shot his broom with a curse. I hope you got injured."

"Ronald, why would you do that?"

Ron looked taken aback. "We were all fighting the Death Eaters."

"But Draco was our classmate! He, erm, had a chance for redemption." _Good thinking,_ Hermione praised herself. "He could have died, Ron. You could have killed someone."

"He didn't, though. I saw him last night at the reception."

"So did I," Hermione said. "He looked scared, Ron," she invented. "He must be terrified working under the Dark Bloody Lord!"

"I'm sure he enjoys torturing innocent wizards just like all his Death Eater friends."

"Then why did he save me?"

Hermione and Ron both looked over at Harry, who continued, "That night, the night you thought you were saving me from Draco...he was saving me. He was holding up the sidecar, he was making sure I didn't fall, and he pushed me and Hagrid through the barrier, whether he knew it or not. I don't know why, given his past with us, but without him I'm sure I'd be dead."

"You're not actually thinking he's a good person, are you?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"We have no way of knowing his true intentions," Hermione defended. "Anyway, he's not our concern right now." Well, Draco was definitely _her_ concern, but she was sure he could handle himself. "We need to get the real locket and figure out how to destroy it."

As if on cue, there was a bang as Mundungus Fletcher fell into the kitchen, Kreacher and Dobby both hanging onto his limbs.

Sirius jumped forward and pointed his wand at the thief.

"How dare you enter my home and steal from me?"

"I figured if you were dead, you wouldn't mind!"

"You haven't told anyone, have you?" Hermione said. "About him being alive."

"Of course not, I'm not stupid. I tell the world Sirius Black is alive, go against the Daily Prophet, and suddenly there's a target on the back of my head. Let me go!" he added to the two house-elves.

"Dobby was only trying to help Harry Potter," Dobby told them as he held on for dear life. "Dobby heard Kreacher and joined in!"

"Thank you both," Hermione said. "But you can let him go for now."

Harry took the locket from Sirius and approached Mundungus. "Did you happen to take something like this?"

"Yeah, I did, actually."

"Great. Where is it?"

"I haven't got it anymore.

"Did you sell it?" Sirius demanded.

"I wish. Why, how much was it worth?"

"Never mind that, tell us who has it," Harry spat.

"I dunno, some strange Ministry lady caught me selling stuff and told me she'd turn a blind eye if I gave her the locket."

"Ministry lady?" Hermione repeated and exchanged a look with Harry and Ron. "Lots of pink?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah, and blimey did she smell like cats."

Hermione nearly groaned aloud. "You can go now."

Without a word, Mundungus disapparated.

"Umbridge?" Ron asked.

"Unfortunately," Hermione confirmed. "How are we going to sneak into the Ministry?"

"Well, we did just run out of Polyjuice," Sirius contemplated, "but I'm sure we could cook up some more."

"Then let's get to it," Hermione said confidently. And if all went well, they would be one Horcrux closer to getting rid of Voldemort.

 **As always, I encourage you all to share this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!**


	13. 13: Parents

"Thank you for your timeliness, Draco."

The boy nodded as he tried to block the Dark Lord from his wonderment that Wormtail was still around.

Voldemort circled the drawing room as the two other occupants avoided eye contact. He paused on the other side of where Draco was seated. "I would like your report on the history of the Elder Wand."

"Of course, my Lord." It had been a couple weeks since Draco had broken his wand and had struggled to go about life without a wand at all. After all, pulling out the Elder Wand in front of Voldemort out of habit wouldn't exactly sit well with the Dark Lord. "The legend of the Deathly Hallows begins with the Peverell brothers. The oldest, Antioch, was the first person to own it and most likely was its creator."

Draco didn't necessarily hate research, but surely Voldemort could have entrusted the task to Snape. Unless he didn't trust him, despite his killing Dumbledore. Completely unsure of his master's intentions, Draco continued:

"Antioch boasted about the wand's powers one night and was killed, his wand stolen. The next person recorded to have the wand was Emeric the Evil, who went about terrorising Muggles in south England, but was killed by Egbert the Egregious."

Why did Voldemort need this information anyway? He just needed Draco to inform him where the wand was supposed to be. Was he testing Draco? Again? It was getting really exhausting to repeatedly have to prove himself. He needed a way to permanently demonstrate his value and establish trust.

"Godelot was recorded as carrying the wand a century later to write Magick Moste Evile, but died in his cellar, where his own son locked him after stealing his wand. After Hereward, the son, the wand seemed to be gone for quite some time-"

Killed by his own son. How interesting.

"-it reappeared in the 18th century when Barnabas Deverill used it to establish himself as a most fearsome warlock, at least until he was killed by the wizard Loxias. Now, after Loxias's death, history gets a bit foggy as no one knows how he died. However, the last known person to posses the wand was the wandmaker Gregorovitch."

"And I presume you know where this wandmaker resides?" Voldemort asked. Draco noticed impatience in the Dark Lord's eyes.

"Erm, I did look into it and his last known location was a house in Germany at this address." Draco slipped a bit of parchment from his robe and passed it to his master.

"Very well, we must be off at once." The Dark Lord approached Wormtail and grabbed him by the arm, shoving him towards the seventeen year old. "Draco, you will drop Wormtail off at Snape's home before meeting me at Gregorovitch's house."

"Yes, my Lord," Draco managed just as Voldemort vaporized away. "Come on, you waste of space." Draco firmly gripped Pettigrew's arm and appeared in Spinner's End moments later.

He knocked on the door and waited, hoping Wormtail wouldn't try anything. Draco would either have to let him go or use the Elder Wand.

Fortunately, the door opened just as his thoughts came to an end.

"Spectacular," Snape remarked dryly as he saw Wormtail. "Babysitting is just what I signed up for." With a flick of his wand, Snape sent Wormtail into the kitchen and locked the door. "There's something else you're here for," the former Potions master noted.

"Yes, actually, but I'll have to give you the details later since he's expecting me right now." Draco paused, not knowing if this would work, but continued. "I need you to get me into Hogwarts."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Look, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, but I need to get inside that school before term starts. I'll send Fawkes later." With that, Draco vaporized away.

When he appeared in front of the modest looking house, Draco could already tell something was wrong. He rushed inside to find Voldemort standing over a woman and two children, a boy and a girl.

"Where is he?!" The Dark Lord roared.

"Please!" the woman pleaded. "I do not know. I bought this house from the man years ago, but I did not know him personally."

"LIES!"

"My Lord," Draco stepped in, "they're clearly Muggles. They couldn't possibly know anything."

"You're right," Voldemort surprisingly agreed. "They've outgrown their usefulness." Before Draco could blink, Voldemort brandished his wand and said, "Avada Kedavra!"

Draco watched as the woman went limp on the floor. The boy, who was older, began to wail, as the girl sat in confusion and prodded her mother.

"If you would like to do the honors, Draco."

"Sorry, what?" He turned to look at Voldemort who simply motioned to the children.

"They're all yours." Was he serious?

"Um, sir, I don't actually have a wand anymore."

"And why is that?"

"It broke. I had a little issue with Wormtail and it snapped. Snape said he'll look into fixing it, though."

"I see. That explains your tardiness."

Did he believe Draco? Did he really believe that codswallop?

"You may go home now, Draco. I have some business to attend to." In a wisp of smoke, he was gone.

Draco rushed to the children. "I'm so sorry."

The boy kept crying. "You let him kill her!" he exclaimed.

"I had no clue he was going to do that, I promise." He

"How did he even do that?"

"How old are you?"

"Ten. How did that man kill my mother?"

"I'm afraid I can't quite explain it." Draco picked up the girl and held the boy's hand. "I'm going to take you both somewhere safe."

"Was he your friend?" the boy asked. "The man who killed my mother?"

Oh, how Draco wished Hermione was there to help him out of this.

"No, of course not. I kind of have to pretend I'm helping him so he doesn't kill me, but really I'm trying to save the world."

"Really?" the boy's tears were drying.

"Grab your mum's hand."

The boy obeyed.

"What are your names?"

"I'm William and my sister's Jane. She's only five."

"Come on, then, off we go." Draco vaporized and appeared in the living room of his parents' current residence. This power to go to and from anywhere except Azkaban was really the only pro to being a Death Eater.

"Draco?"

Narcissa emerged into the room and took a good look at her son, the children, and the woman on the floor.

"Oh, dear, Draco, what happened?"

"It was him. He killed the woman and told me to kill the kids, but I couldn't since I don't have my wand, not that I would do it."

"How terrible."

"Is this your mum?" William asked Draco.

"Yes, I am," Narcissa replied. "And I'm going to take care of you and your sister."

"This is William," Draco introduced, "and Jane. Ten and five. They were living in Germany, but I don't believe they're from there."

"My mum was from England," William told them, fresh tears appearing on his face. "I think my father was from there, too. That thing you did, disappearing from my house and appearing here, I think he could do that, too."

Draco frowned at his mother. "So that would mean-"

"Your father was a wizard, William," Narcissa told him. "Come. Let's give your mother a proper burial and we can explain what's going on."

Just as the burial was finished, Lucius came home to four people instead of one.

"Son, please don't tell me those are your kids."

Draco wanted to facepalm. "No, Father, I wouldn't be old enough anyway!" As Narcissa prepared a room for William and Jane to share, Draco told his father what had happened.

"That means they're both wizards," Lucius deduced.

"Yes, and he's ten so he must have been showing some signs by now."

"Don't worry, Draco," Narcissa said as she came back into the room. "I told them, well, William, about magic and put them to bed. When the time comes, they will both get their education. Beauxbatons has opened its enrollment for boys so it's only a matter of time before the boy gets his letter."

"Unless The Dark Lord gets to France."

"You won't let that happen," Lucius told him.

"Before I go," Draco said, "there's something I need to tell you." He took a deep breath. "I'm killing you off."

Hours later, Draco was in the Room of Requirement, courtesy of Snape. According to his former professor, he had just an hour to get everything together. There were two giant spiders paralyzed in a web in the center and a large cauldron before them. He had tried asking the room for Polyjuice Potion but it just gave him the ingredients. He needed a way to make the potion age for a month in less than an hour.

 _THUD_.

"Aging Potions," Draco read. Aging potions? He needed to age the potion, not a potion to age him. He flipped to the Table of Contents and scanned the list.

"Aging Potions for Potions," he found. "This better be quick." Following the instructions, he made the aging potion in a separate cauldron and while it cooled, he put together the Polyjuice potion. After the stated ten minutes, Draco poured exactly one-fourth of the aging potion into the larger cauldron. Holding out the Elder Wand, he uttered the words to speed the potion by a week. He repeated this three more times, and thirty minutes later, he was done.

"This needs to work," Draco muttered as he poured the Polyjuice into two cups and slipped his mother's hair into one, his father's hair into the other.

Hermione had told him about her incident with Milicent Bulstrode's cat hair, so he knew humans couldn't turn into animals. But could animals turn into humans? And furthermore, would they stay in their human form when killed until the potion wore off? Or die immediately?

He would have to time everything perfectly.

Using the wand, Draco managed to steer the potion from each cup into each spider. It was rather disturbing, but four of the legs on each creature retracted and the hair grew a familiar shade of silvery blond.

Quite soon, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy stood before Draco, looking absolutely normal. Draco asked the room to clean up and he used the wand to usher the fake Malfoys out of the room and to the Headmaster's office. When he entered, Snape looked up from his desk.

"So when you said you were going to stage your parents' deaths, this is what you meant."

Draco nodded. "I have to get to the Hog's Head without getting noticed, but I don't reckon the Invisibility Cloak's large enough for all three of us, so I'll have to vaporize into Aberforth's office and back outside."

Snape said, "And you'll send Duchess as you leave."

"She should be waiting there already. Once you get the signal, come down, and then call him."

"Very well, off you go."

Draco ever so slightly touched the backs of his parents and disappeared. Aberforth was ready when Draco popped into his office.

"You must be very careful, Draco," the old man told him.

Draco picked up Duchess and whispered, "Find Snape." The bird hooted and obeyed. Draco vaporized outside the Three Broomsticks and appeared to storm down the street, although it was mostly empty anyway. When he reached the Hog's Head, he found his "parents" waiting for him at a table. No one else was in the pub. All he had to do was wait.

Soon, Snape entered the pub and pressed his wand to his left arm.

Draco reached into his robes and pulled out his mother's wand with one hand and his father's with another. Time to put on an act.

"You betrayed him, you betrayed me, and you will pay!" he yelled indignantly. Just as Voldemort appeared in the pub, Draco pointed each wand at the respective false owner and spoke, "Avada Kedavra!"

He dropped to his knees and buried his face in his hands.

"They deserved it, Draco," came the high pitched voice. "No need to feel guilty. As you know, I had to kill my own Muggle father for leaving my mother to rot in front of an orphanage. They made a choice."

"Yes, my Lord," Draco said as he rose. "However, I'd like to bury them. They did raise me for most of my life. Without them, I never would have known the truth about Muggle-born scum."

"Of course."

Draco turned to look at Voldemort, who seemed quite pleased with Draco's actions.

"You may have failed to kill Dumbledore last year, but you have proven yourself quite worthy of your status. Now take care of the bodies and I will see both of you later."

Just as Voldemort left, the "Malfoys" turned back into spiders.

"Arania evanesca," Snape said, causing the creatures to burn up and disappear.

Draco dropped to the floor in relief as Aberforth came out. Duchess flew in and sat on Draco's knee.

"It seemed so real," he whispered.

"But it wasn't," Aberforth told him.

"We are lucky your plan worked," Snape told him before disappearing.

"I'll let the Daily Prophet know what happened," Aberforth assured him.

Draco nodded and thanked him before taking Duchess home, knowing his parents were safe.

 **A/N: Such a long chapter! I didn't intend half of this to happen but I got the idea and went with it. And does Draco really have Voldy convinced?**


	14. 14: False Information

Hermione was sitting on the living room floor with the Polyjuice brewing in a cauldron to her left, several books and a notebook in front of her, and a quill and some ink on her right. It had been a couple weeks since the wedding so the potion was halfway complete. Harry and Ron had been helping out Sirius and Ollivander with chores (quite reluctantly) and trying to figure out what and where the remaining Horcruxes could be. However, Hermione had devoted herself completely to studying the memory charm because she needed to find a cure. She'd changed her parents' appearances since they were somewhat recognizable although they hadn't been in touch with their own families since the war started. But at least she could change them back. The cure for Obliviate had never been found, but Hermione desperately needed to find it.

Suddenly, Harry barged into the room shaking the Daily Prophet in front of him.

"Hermione, come to the kitchen NOW!"

Without further explanation, he ran back out.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione rose and followed him. Harry must have called everyone together because they were all waiting in the kitchen.

"This had better be worth interrupting me, Harry," Hermione told him.

Harry set the paper on the table. "The headline. 'Malfoy Heir Justly Punishes Parents' Betrayal.' He killed his own parents!"

Hermione was at a loss for words. Frowning, she picked up the paper and began reading, "Yesterday, August 16th, Draco Malfoy reportedly found his parents, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. According to the owner, the couple exchanged some words with their son, who, rather offended by their choice to leave the Dark Lord, disarmed them immediately. Just as the new Hogwarts headmaster, Severus Snape, and the Dark Lord himself arrived on the scene, the young Master Malfoy used the wands he had retrieved to serve justice. Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape have chosen not to comment on this matter."

They were all silent for just a moment.

"No way," Hermione voiced. "No way. Harry, you said it yourself last year. He couldn't even kill Dumbledore. How could he kill his own parents?"

"He must really have turned," Ron said.

"Or maybe he was Imperiused," Sirius offered.

"How did he find them anyway?" Hermione wondered aloud. "Weren't they both at—" she cut herself off.

"At what, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"At some hiding place so secret even You-Know-Who couldn't find them."

"Perhaps he did not make an effort to find them," Ollivander said.

"Yeah, too busy murdering innocent people," Ron muttered rather audibly.

Sirius turned to the two boys. "Would you two mind going to Muggle London as soon as Fawkes arrives with the food? There are some things we need for the potion soon."

Harry nodded, telling him, "We'll go put on our disguises," before leaving with Ron, undoubtedly badmouthing Draco.

Hermione turned to the two men. "There's no way. You know that. The question is, what really happened?"

"I suspect he was trying to convince his master that he's really on the dark side," Sirius said.

"Most likely, but who did he kill? The article said Snape and You-Know-Who showed up just as he was killing his 'parents' so it had to have been someone real."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Snape must have helped Draco."

Ollivander said, "Perhaps, but I think it wise not to dwell on this. Mister Malfoy seems to have a handle on his situation, at least for the time being."

Hermione verbally agreed and left, but she couldn't help but wonder what was going on. She shook the thought out of her head. Although she was worried about him, she needed to focus on the potion and the cure.

On the second of September, the potion was finally ready. Fawkes had transported the trio to an alley near the Ministry's entrance before going back to Sirius and Ollivander, who stayed behind to prepare for any injuries or curses.

"Harry, you stay here and keep my bag safe," Hermione instructed. "I'll be right by the street to stun them, and Ron, you'll be pretending to tie your shoe a few meters ahead."

"Can Muggles come this way?" Harry asked.

"I don't know but I'll place a charm just to be safe." She walked to the street and spoke, "Repello Muggletum." From a distance, an uptight looking woman was coming their way. Hermione signaled to Ron who walked out of the alley and to his spot.

Three stuns later, the Golden Trio was ready to infiltrate the Ministry.

Meanwhile, Draco lay on his bed contemplating the Dark Lord's recent actions. With every name he got from the Ministry, he would go on more raids and hunt down muggleborns. This, of course, was the normal part. The weird part was that Draco was being left behind. He was even left behind during the searching of the Hogwarts Express. That could have been because his wand was broken, but with all the wizards being killed, surely Voldemort could afford to give one wand to Draco. Or maybe Draco's poorly thought out, incredibly desperate attempt to throw off suspicions by killing his parents had only done the opposite.

"I just need to start acting more mental," Draco said to himself.

On the subject of his wand, Draco couldn't find a thing. Not a book in the giant Malfoy library mentioned a word about Merlin's wand. Then again, he realized that before his first year Dumbledore had mentioned that Merlin didn't want anyone knowing. There were some books about the Elder Wand that suggested it could perform any sort of magic possible. Then why couldn't it fix his wand?

While he continued to ponder, Yaxley had got hold of Hermione and apparated to Grimmauld Place with them. It was fast, but Hermione shook him off when they got there and apparated away to where the Quidditch World Cup was held.

Yaxley growled, outraged, and spun around just in time to block a hex from a very alive Sirius Black. Ollivander heard them from upstairs and quickly began packing all their belongings into a bag with the Undetectable Extension Charm on it, courtesy of Hermione a few days ago. Once this was done, he crept downstairs, Fawkes right behind him, and inched into the kitchen, where they were dueling. Yaxley's back was turned, allowing Ollivander to shoot the Death Eater with a stunning spell.

"Nice work," Sirius said, "but he's seen the place and we have possibly already been tracked. We need to leave."

Fawkes quickly prepared himself and waited for the two men to grab on before disappearing into a vortex and reappearing in Aberforth's office. As they got situated in the Hog's Head again, Draco was interrupted from his thoughts at Malfoy Manor.

"Fools!"

Groaning, Draco made his way down the stairs. "My Lord?"

To his surprise, there were quite a few Death Eaters there, including Snape, despite the fact that school had just started. To his dismay, Umbridge was among them.

"They were disguised!" she exclaimed. "No doubt Polyjuice Potion."

"What happened?" Draco asked Snape.

"Our three Gryffindor heroes decided to infiltrate the Ministry for reasons we do not yet known," he answered.

"Dolores," Voldemort spoke, "you said you were knocked unconscious by Potter."

Draco forced himself not to laugh as the pink woman angrily nodded.

The Dark Lord turned to the Death Eaters who worked in the Ministry. "And none of you could catch them?"

They shook their heads in response.

"My Lord!" Someone called, footsteps echoing the halls. "My Lord." Another Ministry Death Eater appeared before them.

"I apologize for my lateness, but I saw Yaxley follow them up the fire in the Atrium so I decided to track them."

"And? What have you found?" Voldemort demanded.

"A number 12 Grimmauld Place."

 _Oh, no,_ Draco thought.

"You may all return to the Ministry. Severus, double the security in Hogsmeade. Goyle, Nott, Draco, you three go find Yaxley and ensure that he is properly punished. And Draco, you can have his wand. He won't be needing it anymore."

As soon as Voldemort materialized into the air, the three of them went to Sirius's old house. They appeared inside and made their way into the kitchen, where Yaxley was passed out.

"We need to search the house," Draco said to Theo and Greg's fathers. Goyle immediately left to do just that but Nott Sr lingered.

"You haven't any idea where Theo could be, have you?" It wasn't concern that laced his voice, but annoyance. Here was the traitor Lucius's son, in the Dark Lord's good graces, while his own had disappeared and was possibly on the other side of the war.

Draco shook his head. "He made his choice and you made yours. Only one of you made the right choice, of course, so the consequences for the other may be quite severe." He was grateful Theo had his mom because Nott Sr couldn't give a rat's arse about his son's well being.

Draco pointed his wand at Yaxley and spoke, "Rennervate."

The man's eyes shot open. "No," he said as he noticed Draco and Nott Sr. "I need to speak with the Dark Lord. He was here. Sirius Black was here."

"Sure," Draco said. "He came back from the dead." According to most of the Death Eaters, and the rest of the Wizarding World that read the Daily Prophet, Voldemort had done away with Sirius Black earlier that year. Draco wasn't sure who else knew Voldemort's truth, that he hadn't even found and wouldn't bother to look for Sirius, apart from himself and Snape.

"I swear he was here, but someone was with him. I was hit from behind."

"The desperate ramblings of a desperate man." Draco bent down. "Under normal circumstances, perhaps I'd be willing to hear you out, but the Dark Lord promised me your wand." He picked up said wand and rose with an evil grin and motioned to Nott Sr. "Finish him."

"Wait!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Within seconds, they called down Goyle and went back to Malfoy Manor with the body. Voldemort was waiting for them.

Nott Sr. threw Yaxley's body on the ground.

"Nagini?" Voldemort called. The snake appeared and dragged away the body without being asked.

Goyle reported that he didn't find anything at the house so he and Nott Sr. left.

"My Lord," Draco spoke. "Yaxley said that Sirius Black was at the house and that someone was with him and stunned him from behind."

"Sirius Black?" Voldemort's face gave away about as much as his voice: nothing.

"Yes, sir, but I didn't want to say anything in front of Nott."

"Of course not. Perhaps I shall visit this place myself to determine its significance." Voldemort vaporized away leaving Draco with an answer as to why he wasn't going along—it was never about the broken wand. Voldemort didn't trust him to get the job done. What was he really up to?

 **A/N: I hope that was quite a bit of action for you guys. So Draco "killing off" his parents didn't really work the way he intended meaning Voldemort's up to something, but what could it be?**


	15. 15: Funds & Friends

Draco had gotten about two hours of sleep. He kept dreaming that Voldemort would find out his secret and somehow end up murdering all his friends and family. Half the Order probably had similar dreams. Why hadn't he thought through his plan? If he was lucky, Voldemort would assume the fake assassination of the Malfoys was done to protect them and not because Draco wanted to throw off suspicion. Of course, if he was extremely lucky, Voldemort wouldn't find out at all. Where was Felix Felicis when it was needed?

After a quick shower to wake himself up properly, he made his way downstairs. As soon as he saw Voldemort waiting for him, Draco put up extra walls in his mind.

"Morning, my Lord," Draco greeted. "What brings you here?"

The Dark Lord didn't even turn to face Draco, but just waited there, examining his wand. "Do you remember your friend Adrian Pucey?"

This didn't sound good. "Yes, I believe he's being homeschooled, but I haven't heard from him since fifth year ended."

"I hope you two are still on friendly terms," he said, finally turning around.

"I'm sure if we saw each other we'd get to chatting again."

"Excellent. You see, I require some private funding that I cannot seek from the Ministry."

Private funding? Voldemort could Imperius the whole Treasury if he wanted money.

"My Lord, perhaps I can assist with the funding."

"That won't be necessary. I have other plans for your money. I don't want to have to threaten them into helping me—I intend to spill as little pure blood as possible—so I require that you accompany me."

What in Salazar's name was going on? First Draco couldn't go anywhere and now he had to go? No threatening? Did he forget about the Imperius Curse?

"Of course, my Lord."

In a flash, they were in the Puceys' foyer.

"I'll see who it is, Mum," Adrian's voice called as footsteps echoed down the stairs. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Draco was face to face with his friend.

"Draco," the boy voiced. "And the Dark Lord." Draco noticed Adrian visibly pale at the sight of Voldemort.

"Adrian, is it?" Voldemort said, as if he didn't already know. "I am here to meet with your father regarding some financial matters."

"Of course, sir, right this way."

Draco and Voldemort followed Adrian to his father's study.

"Father," Adrian began, prompting the man to look up from his desk. Mr. Pucey slowly stood up, creasing his eyebrows.

"Adrian," he spoke, "it would be wise for you and Draco to wait downstairs."

Without question, the two boys left Mr. Pucey alone with the dark wizard. They found their way to the kitchen in silence.

"So," Adrian awkwardly cleared his throat, "it's good to see you, mate."

"You too. Nervous?"

"I mean, yeah, it's _him_ , so..."

Draco paused before telling his friend, "Before we came here, he told me that he didn't want to have to threaten your family, since you're pureblood and all."

"He probably only said that because we're friends." Opening the fridge, he asked, "Pumpkin juice?"

"No, thanks. I think that in case your father doesn't agree, the Dark Lord wants me to convince you to support him. Peer pressure and all."

Adrian took a deep breath. "How close do you think you are to defeating him?"

"You can't think about that. He can read your mind."

"But you _are_ doing something, right?"

Draco thought for a moment. "Little things, I suppose. I've avoided hurting anyone and I helped two kids that were orphaned by the Dark Lord. But my wand's broken and my ideas are pretty much nonexistent. I'm going along with everything for now."

"You haven't heard from Theo and Blaise, have you?"

"From Blaise, not a word. What owl's going to fly here from Italy? But Theo keeps me informed of important goings-on usually every month or so. And sometimes Pansy adds to the letter. Did you know they're together?"

"Theo and Pansy? Blimey, that's something. I've been out of touch with all of you for so long. I suppose it makes sense, them having no one else all year last year. What about you, then? I mean, Blaise probably found someone at school to pour his heart out to, and I haven't even seen one in ages."

Draco chuckled. "Actually, you're not going to believe this."

Adrian mock gasped. "Bloody hell, the ice cold Slytherin Prince found a girl?"

Rolling his eyes, yet unable to hide a smile that peeked out at the thought of her, Draco continued, "I shouldn't even be telling you this since the Dark Lord can probably read your thoughts, but you're my mate so yeah there's someone. I haven't seen her since school ended, though, and who knows when I'll see her next?"

"It's not Milicent, is it?"

"Why, you interested in her?"

The boys laughed. "No way!" Adrian denied. "Who is it, then? Or can you not tell me that?"

"The latter."

"Ah, it's a Gryffindor, isn't it? Or a muggleborn?"

"Not quite, Pucey. I'll tell you when this is all over."

There was a moment of silence as the two boys grew somber.

"We'll make it through this, right?" Adrian's words were more hopeful than his face dared to show.

"We have to."

Draco heard someone coming down the stairs. He and Adrian left the kitchen and found Mr. Pucey leading Voldemort back to the front door. Adrian let out a breath he seemed to be holding for quite some time.

"You have made a wise choice," Voldemort was telling him.

"I'm confident I have," Adrian's father replied.

"Draco, you can return to your home now." Without so much as a glance at the boy he was speaking to, Voldemort vaporized away.

"It was great catching up with you," Draco told Adrian. "And it's great to see you again, Mr. Pucey."

Mr. Pucey nodded as he said, "Be very careful. He's not as easy to fool as one may think."

Adrian must have told his father some time ago.

"I agree, sir," Draco said and with a nod at Adrian, he went back home.

As Hermione watched Ron stare at the radio in pain, she wished she were home. She wished Harry were home and she wished Ron were home. Every day since the night they fled from the wedding, Ron would turn that radio up and sit in front of it for the missing persons report. She got up, removing the locket, and walked to Ron.

"It's your turn," she told him. "How's your arm?"

He shrugged with the other shoulder. "It hurts a bit every now and then, but I'm getting there." The physical pain was subsiding, but by the look on Ron's face, the internal pain wasn't.

She pat his back before walking out of the tent to clear her head. Despite all the research she had done, she was getting nowhere with finding a cure for the spell.

It was dark outside, probably some time after ten at night. She walked to the edge of their little safe zone when she noticed them. The snatchers. Dressed in all black, they laughed as two other snatchers dragged a person through the grass while a third snatcher led them.

"Got another one, 'ave you?" someone cackled.

The person leading the two snatchers was at his throat in a second. "Got another one? Is there not enough moonlight for you to see that yes, we 'ave, in fact, got another one?"

"Where'd you get 'im, Scabior?"

"Found 'im over by some puddle, try'n t' drink out of it," the leader replied. "Come on, go that way!"

The snatchers began moving towards the woods. As Scabior passed Hermione, he stopped for a moment, stopping her heart as well.

She covered her mouth to muffle her breathing and didn't move as he came closer, frowning. He took a sniff and Hermione internally groaned. She hadn't been able to shower in a couple days so she'd just put on some perfume to cover up the smell.

They both stood there for a second before Scabior finally walked away to catch up with his group. Hermione let out a breath.

"Snatchers," Harry spoke from behind her.

She turned around and began walking back to the tent with him. "I think he could smell my perfume."

"Perfume?"

"Don't judge, I haven't showered."

"Well, neither have I."

"Yes, I can tell."

As they reached the tent together, they failed to notice the glare they were receiving from their other friend.

 **A/N: I felt compelled to write this chapter in honor of the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter! I hope you spent this day commemorating the excellence of J.K. Rowling!**


	16. 16: Malfoy's Wand, Or Draco's

Two weeks and complete silence. At least on Draco's end. He felt stuck, useless, clueless. Day by day Voldemort and the elite team Draco was no longer a part of embarked on successful raids, slaughtering Muggles, muggleborns, and any sympathizers.

He felt somewhat responsible. Instead of figuring out what the other Horcruxes could be, he was just sat in the library, thinking about what he could be doing. He had learned more magic using the Elder Wand, but it was seriously draining him. For once in his magical career, he had to work to master a spell or potion.

Maybe his wand was meant to break. He'd obviously taken for granted being able to do any spell on the first try. However, the Elder Wand was draining him so much that it felt like the curse was from Marvolo Gaunt's ring was back.

Something was wrong, in every aspect he could think of. Voldemort obviously didn't trust him thanks to his brash, desperate plan to gain trust. Either Draco or the Elder Wand clearly wasn't functioning as he or it was supposed to. And most ominously, he couldn't help but feel he was missing some crucial piece of information right before his eyes.

As legend put it, being in possession of all three Deathly Hallows should have made Draco feel drastically more powerful using the Elder Wand. He should have been able to do all sorts of magic, including fix Merlin's wand. Technically speaking, he was the master of Death. But what did that even mean? Perhaps there was a worth factor that played into it and the Elder Wand didn't work right because Draco wasn't meant to have it.

A couple books regarding the Deathly Hallows lay on the table beside him. Draco decided it wasn't worth his time to scour every page again, looking for answers he would not find.

He wondered what would have happened if six years ago he hadn't made the choice to take down Voldemort, to be an active participant in his removal. His parents would still be cold and ruthless, unconditionally working for the Dark Lord. In fact, Voldemort might have successfully taken over by now. Draco would probably be working for him, but he might have become accustomed to a lack of morals. He wouldn't be in danger, his family wouldn't be in danger, his friends wouldn't be in danger. Well, his non-Slytherin friends would still be in danger, but then again, they probably wouldn't even be friends.

"Let it go," he told himself. He wouldn't be okay with living that life, that lie. He would just have to stop complaining and figure out how to deal with his situation. And for some reason, he realized he might have to go to Borgin & Burkes.

Draco vaporized into the air and reappeared in the store. He hadn't been there since asking about the Vanishing Cabinet, although technically he had when Hermione had Polyjuiced into him to help him test the cabinet. At the counter, a man appeared whom Draco had never seen before.

"Erm, you must be new here," Draco told the man, slowly approaching him.

"Mister Malfoy, I remember you!" the man exclaimed, oddly cheerful. "You were here in June, testing out that big cabinet over there." He pointed to the large decorated object.

"Yes, that I was, but I did not notice you. Where's Borgin?"

The man gasped dramatically. "Why, you do not know? The poor man was attacked in his shop last winter! When I was hired by one of the Knockturn Alley financiers to take over, I learned that he was found over by that very cabinet you were testing. Naturally, I wanted to say something, but I just couldn't bring myself to interrupt. After all, I'd heard you were on a mission for" the man lowered his voice to barely a whisper "the Dark Lord."

"How did you hear that? Are you with us?"

"Well, of course, Mister Malfoy! I would be a fool otherwise."

"Alright, but is Borgin still alive?"

The man looked down. "Sadly, he is not. May he rest in peace knowing he helped to facilitate the death of one of our biggest enemies."

Borgin was dead. Because of Draco. Well, because of Draco because of Voldemort, but he was still responsible. Last winter...what could he have sent through that killed Borgin? Could it have been Ravenclaw's diadem? He remembered wondering why the diadem didn't try to kill him as the ring and diary had tried to kill him and Ginny Weasley. So then it really was his fault and not Voldemort's for choosing to send the diadem through.

Draco had inadvertently killed two people—Borgin and Fenrir Greyback—and whenever he remembered about the latter, it would eat him up inside. Were the deaths justified since they were on the dark side of the war? Maybe Greyback deserved it, but then again Draco might only have thought that because he was the killer.

"Thank you for letting me know," Draco told the new clerk, unaware of how long he'd been blankly staring into space, deep in his thoughts. "Where do you keep your books now? I noticed they're no longer by the display."

"We sold them all to Flourish & Blotts now. The Dark Lord requires it of them."

Voldemort hadn't mentioned that. What else was Draco not told?

"Excellent. Thank you."

"Good day, Mister Malfoy!"

Draco made his way into the bookstore, which seemed rather dark and dim in comparison to the last time he'd been there. There was a bold new Dark Magic section towards the very front. What was he even looking for? Wand failures, perhaps? If only wizard had that thing Muggles called the Internet.

Thankfully, there were enough books for them to be sorted with category signs. He traced his finger through the books in the Wands section.

 _Famous Wands and Associated Dark Abilities_ seemed rather promising. He flipped through to the page on the Elder Wand.

"If you want to read the book, you have to BUY the book."

Draco spun around to find a crotchety old lady with a rather large nose.

"I'll only be a minute."

"This is not a library!"

Draco stifled the urge to roll his eyes and just bought the book before returning home to his own library.

According to the book, the Elder Wand was supposed to make the owner be able to perform literally every possible sort of magic to ever exist without exerting any sort of pressure on the wizard who used it. That was definitely not true. It was also wrong because it said it was the only wand ever made from Elder, but Merlin's wand was part Elder as well.

Would Merlin's wand even be in there? Apparently no one knew about it except Dumbledore and Ollivander before Draco was starting Hogwarts.

But to his surprise, it actually was there. It was written down as English Oak which, of course, was only a cover. But what intrigued Draco was that the book claimed that the wand had a very strong tie to Slytherin, and because of this, it had a particular proficiency for dark magic. Merlin himself was not a dark wizard, but rather a creator, which Draco knew from having studied his ancestor. He had made his own sort of parallel world called Camelot when forces rained down on him for being so closely connected to the original head of his house—not for an escape, but rather to build an empire that was truly his, to house his people, those who were being persecuted by the hardcore Gryffindor fanatics. In building this empire, Merlin showed off his strength and his goodwill, thus defying the odds that were against him. However, his wand was still very strongly rooted in Slytherin, for some reason the book couldn't explain, so when Merlin went to war with the last of the fanatics, the wand was shot down by the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

It all made sense now. Merlin was probably the best wizard to ever be in Slytherin House and therefore his wand was very attached to that fact. Merlin was also a good person and the first of many to prove the light side of Slytherin House. So when a wand so deeply associated with a man rooted in Slytherin was confronted by the sword of Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin's worst enemy, the magic was able to identify each other and the stronger, goblin-made weapon took down the tri-tree creation.

Draco was very similar to Merlin—a good person, or so he hoped he still was, with a definite purpose in proving himself while essentially saving the world, and yes, he still remembered Dumbledore's words about getting a big head. That was why he was chosen as the heir. That was why when he used his wand—Merlin's wand—to retrieve the sword of Gryffindor for Snape, his wand snapped in half as it had before.

Back then, Merlin had to go back to Camelot and learn humility, according to the book, before the wand mended itself. Draco knew he wasn't nearly modest enough. He was a confident person who knew he was destined for great things and knew he had difficult things to deal with. Just because he acted humble didn't mean he was on the inside.

The book didn't go into detail about how Merlin learned humility, but it did tell of how difficult it was for Merlin to use any other wand during that time, thus causing his kingdom to suffer. Perhaps this same concept applied to the Elder Wand which, although supposedly gave serious power to whoever used it, was just another wand to Draco.

He closed the book and put it in a new space on a shelf about famous wizarding artifacts. He thought one day the book might be updated to included the second name for Merlin's wand: Malfoy's wand. Or maybe Draco's wand. But whichever it was, he first needed to learn how to not think that way.

 **A/N: Yes, I finally updated! I've had this chapter like nearly half done for a couple weeks now and have been too busy with work to upload, but here it is, much to my relief, because I wanted to write it ever since I broke Draco's wand, ahem, Merlin's wand. I just completely made up all the Merlin stuff on the spot and decided to included Camelot just because I thought the backstory would fit really well. Hope you guys enjoyed Draco's internal struggles here! (And hopefully I didn't bore you to death with Merlin's wand this and that.)**


	17. 17: Lyson

Humility wasn't something one could just randomly learn in a day. Or even in a few weeks. So for the moment, Draco decided to give up on trying to learn something that was meant to come naturally. In fact, he even gave up on trying to find out information about possible Horcruxes and their locations. Instead, he did research to help Voldemort.

There was obviously no sign of Potter anywhere, and even if there was, Draco wouldn't give him up because Hermione was with him. However, the target right under Potter on Voldemort's list was Gregorovitch, and that was someone Draco could afford to find.

He mentally chastised himself for saying "afford," as if the man were some random casualty of war, which he would be if found by accident. It sounded like Draco was fine with the wandmaker's death, especially due to Draco's own efforts. He didn't want that, but he was dealing with Voldemort, who was ruthless and always seemed to have his own secret agenda. There was no telling Gregorovitch's fate.

Because he couldn't detect the future, Draco had delved into the past to determine where the old wandmaker could have gone. He considered that Ollivander might have some clue, but he and Sirius and disappeared from Grimmauld Place and Draco hadn't received any news from them. Fawkes wasn't going to the Hog's Head anymore so that was possibly their current location, but if it was, Draco didn't want to risk their lives again by showing up. He would have to figure out something else.

The book in his hands was something he felt compelled or even responsible for reading, as much as he didn't want to. _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore_ was perhaps one of the most offensively written autobiographies to exist. Apparently Rita Skeeter had gotten her information from Bathilda Bagshot, the author of _A History of Magic_ , but no one had seen the old woman in years. Just how accurate was it?

He finally learned Arianna was the sister of the Dumbledore brothers that was accidentally killed by one of them or by Dumbledore's friend Gellert Grindelwald, a formidable dark wizard during the first half of the century. That friend actually happened to be Bagshot's great nephew and incidentally the person from whom Dumbledore won the Elder Wand. The question then was how did it get to him from Gregorovitch? And where were they both? He needed to figure this out because he wasn't going to just tell Voldemort that Dumbledore was the last person to have the wand. He wanted to draw out the investigation to keep the Dark Lord focused on the wand instead of the Golden Trio.

Draco remembered William and Jane, the two apparent half-bloods that the Malfoys were caring for, and their mother, whom Voldemort murdered. Whoever the father was would most likely know Gregorovitch as more than just the man who sold them his home. The only issue was that he didn't know if the father was still alive or if both kids were born in England because only William could talk clearly. And with Voldemort still acting suspicious, it would be a particularly bad time to visit the kids and his parents.

He supposed the home in Germany would be a good place to start. Hopefully no one would recognize him and even if they did, he could explain it away semi-truthfully. Cringing slightly as he reached for Yaxley's wand, as he was rather opposed to using it, he vaporized away.

Landing outside the development, he took in his surroundings and hid behind a tree.

"Engorgio," he pointed to a rock and watched as it enlarged. Having never used Yaxley's wand before, he needed to make sure it didn't give him the same problem the Elder Wand did. He watched as the rock grew before saying, "Reducio" to shrink it back to normal.

"Incendio. Aguamenti. Accio stone. Reducto!" The stone ignited, was extinguished, came to Draco's hand, then was tossed in the air and exploded.

The wand seemed to be serving him fine, which made the Elder Wand's reaction rather strange, but Draco didn't know what to think of that. He focused on the task at hand. He had no idea where the landlord was and he didn't want to risk recognition by talking to the neighbors. Too bad he wasn't a metamorphmagus like his cousin. Then he realized that he actually _could_ change his appearance.

Quickly, he shifted into an arctic wolf and appeared from behind the tree. He reckoned he'd give the neighbors a good scare which would give him enough time to gauge if they were Voldemort supporters and allow them enough time to contact the landlord. He could tell by some of the architecture that it was a Muggle complex so if anyone wasn't Muggle he supposed it would be clear after a few short moments. He just hoped he wouldn't be cursed or killed.

Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, the wolf made his way towards the house he recognized as William and Jane's old home. Peering through the lowest window, he noted that the home seemed to have been cleared out. That most likely meant the landlord liked to check on the occupants more often than not and perhaps had a good relationship with them.

Draco silently walked to the house beside it and looked around for a good point of entry. He was wondering if he should just wait in front of the door until someone showed up when, quite conveniently, a man opened the door and stepped outside. There was a short pause before he noticed the wolf standing mere meters away.

The man stayed absolutely still. "Della?" he called before proceeding to say something in German. There was a short moment before a woman appeared next to him. They shared a look before the woman pulled out her phone, Draco believed it was called, and pressed some buttons. She put it to her ear and calmly uttered a string of phrases.

By now, the man had retrieved some long stick-like object and was slowly inching forward.

Draco really didn't want to have to use Imperio or Obliviate with Yaxley's wand. Who knew if it could be used against him? But this man needed to stop approaching him.

Just in time, another man appeared from the end of the street and shouted something at the couple. It seemed to be a command because the two retreated back into their home. Turning his back to the house, the landlord walked towards Draco, who walked backwards to lead them out of the Muggles' sight. As expected, the landlord pulled out a wand and Draco turned back into himself, raising his arms in surrender.

"I just need some information."

The landlord was taken aback. "You're an Animagus! And English!"

"It seems you're English as well," Draco noted, referring to his accent. "I need to know who lived in the house next to those Muggles. A wizard and a Muggle woman with a son and daughter. What were their names?"

"Why shall I help you?"

"Please, sir, I don't even have a wand."

Within moments, Draco had informed the man that he found William and Jane and had taken them in. They were inside the landlord's office and the man started flipping through an old book.

"They came here just last year," he was saying. "When He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named manifested himself as very much alive, the wandmaker Gregorovitch decided he needed to disappear. He contacted a friend of his who had been looking to leave England after the attacks on the bridges began. That friend was named Stanley Lyson." He pointed to a name in the book.

"Lyson?" Draco repeated. That was Hermione's mother's maiden name.

"Yes, he was the younger brother of the squib Jean, supposedly kidnapped right before he could start his magical training. However, he actually ran away for a reason he would not tell me. He was taken in by a Muggle family and ended up marrying a classmate from his school. By then, of course, he had begun his secret magic lessons with Gregorovitch, which is a story with details unknown to me. You must understand, I am only telling you this because you claim to have saved William and Jane and I have no reason to distrust you since I am still alive."

This man seemed a bit thick, since Draco had given him plenty of reasons, but he was at least kindhearted.

"Thank you, sir. As I said before, I will ensure your safety in this war."

"And for that, I am grateful. Stanley Lyson last saw his family in the summer before he returned to England to search for his sister. She and her husband supposedly disappeared and were being hunted as a means to track down Hermione Granger so they could track down Harry Potter. I cannot say for sure where you might find him. He doesn't even know the fate of his wife, but if you do find him, please let him know and pass on my condolences."

"Certainly, sir. Thank you."

With that, Draco returned to Malfoy Manor. His next step was to find Stanley Lyson. It wasn't just about tracking down Gregorovitch anymore. His only connection to the wandmaker also happened to be the uncle Hermione never knew about. She needed to know that. She needed to see her uncle, the one family member she might be able to connect with since her parents had disappeared. She needed to know of the aunt Draco couldn't save. She needed to meet the cousins he did.

How much time did they all have before it was too late for any of that?


	18. 18: Stanley

If Draco were Stanley Lyson, looking for his lost sister, where would he be? First, he would start with his own childhood home, having no idea where she would have moved to. Then he would find her home, empty perhaps, or at least obviously uninhabited. And then what would be his next step?

He stood in front of Hermione's home, wrapped in the Invisibility Cloak. He could enter if he wanted to, but that would be an invasion of her privacy. However, it might be the only way to track down her uncle.

It had been months since this place was inhabited, much less searched by Stanley, so he had no idea of what he could possibly find that might lead him to the man. He expected it would take him at least a couple hours of searching before he found something or an additional hour before he would have to give up.

Instead, merely seconds after he entered the Granger residence, he noticed a piece of paper and a pen on the otherwise empty kitchen table. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a note. It read:

 _I've been searching with no luck. If you see this, I'll be at the only place I told you I would ever meet you._

How bloody helpful was that? Of course his only clue was something that only Jean Lyson would understand, the only person Stanley actually knew and trusted. What could possibly be their meeting place? It must have been someplace where he could both stay and search in secret. Would he still be there? What if someone before Draco had stumbled upon the note and was somehow able to decipher it? Stanley could be long gone or kidnapped even.

Just then he realized something. Who had left the front door unlocked? There weren't any protective charms or anything either, as if the Grangers were planning to never return, but as Draco proceeded to comb through the house looking for traces of someone, Stanley or not, he found everything was organized just the way it must have been when the Grangers left. Nothing was out of place. Of course, there was a spell for that, to put everything back as it was.

He continued upstairs, hoping to find a clue when—

"Stupefy!"

Draco ducked and rolled away from the top of the stairs, whipping out Yaxley's wand. Another was verbally shot at him and Draco easily deflected it.

"Who are you?" Draco shouted out. "Stanley Lyson?" It must have been. For a grown man to be unable to use nonverbal spells, he must have started learning very late.

Lowering his wand, the man asked, "How did you know? Not a soul has searched for me since I disappeared from the Wizarding World so long ago."

"Perhaps introductions are in order." Draco put his wand away and instead raised his arm. "My name is Draco Malfoy."

The man's eyes widened and the pointed his wand at Draco.

"I'm not here to harm you, I just need some information."

"How can I be sure to trust you?"

Draco shrugged. "You can't, but I did just put my wand away." Not that Draco couldn't kick Stanley arse without it, but mentioning that would be rather counterproductive. "How long have you been here?"

Stanley sighed. "Months. If anywhere, this would be the only place to find my sister."

"You realize you're absolutely terrible at keeping yourself safe. What if I had been some intruder or a Death Eater? There are no protective enchantments on the house."

"I'm not particularly advanced at magic if you haven't already noticed. And the note I left downstairs was supposed to be misleading in case anyone came here."

Not particularly advanced in thinking either. "Your landlord said Gregorovitch had started teaching you while you were in school. How did you come across him anyway?"

"You spoke to my landlord? Why would he give me away?"

"Because I want to help you and your niece."

There was a moment of silence.

"Hermione Granger."

Draco nodded. "You see, she's a close, erm, friend of mine, but I can't openly help her without letting the Dark Lord know of my true leanings. For what I'm about to tell you, we should sit down."

Stanley frowned. "Alright..." he trailed off and directed him into a room Draco recognized as Hermione's because it was filled with books. The closet was open with mostly muggle clothes. Just being in her room made him miss her even more. He could really use her help, her support, just her presence.

"So," Stanley interrupted his thoughts and motioned to the bed while sitting in a reading chair by the window, "what did you want to tell me?"

"It's about your family. The Dark Lord found your home in his pursuit of Gregorovitch and when your wife was unable to give up his location, the Dark Lord was not pleased and..." Draco just stopped when he noted the realization on Stanley's face.

"No. No, no, no, no, no...no!" Tears began streaming down his face.

"I'm terribly sorry, it happened so quickly."

"And my children? What about them? Are they alright?"

"You-Know-Who asked me to dispose of them, but I couldn't. I secretly took them to my parents' secret home. They are doing absolutely fine. William may be able to start school next year."

"Thank you! Thank you, I understand how difficult it must be to have to serve your master with your set of morals and values," Stanley managed to get out through the sobs.

"I went back to see if your landlord could help me find Gregorovitch. You see, the Dark Lord is looking for something and I need to keep him focused on this task rather than on finding Harry Potter and Hermione, who's with him. That's when your landlord told me about you."

"I'm afraid I didn't tell him the full truth. Gregorovitch didn't start teaching me until I had graduated from university. I wanted to pursue a Muggle education so I could have a stable job for my family, but he made me realize I couldn't deny the magic I was born with."

Tears were still falling from Stanley's eyes. "My wife, where is her body?"

"Buried at my parents' home. Did you want me to take you there to see your children?"

He shook his head. "I can't face them yet. I wasn't there to protect them when that was my duty. Besides, there's something I need to do. And that's find Gregorovitch and kill him."

Draco was taken aback. " _You_ want to kill your old master?"

"He led _your_ master straight to my family."

"This is not how you should be dealing with your grief. If you kill him, that's something you can never come back from. Not to mention he could probably defeat you with ease given his vast experience. And he knows your weakness because he knows your wand."

Stanley hung his head. "I didn't trust you even when you mentioned Hermione. I brought you in here to gauge your reaction. And I'd recognize the look you had on your face anywhere. You really do care for her. So please, I implore you to seek justice for my wife and children. I will help you find Gregorovitch."

"Thank you, but I'm afraid what happens is up to the Dark Lord."

"In that case, I'm sure the justice served will be more than enough."

"Don't let this destroy you," Draco told him. "You are Hermione's closest relative now, given that her parents have gone missing. After the war, only you will be able to be there for her. I suppose she has the Weasleys, but you're her mother's brother."

"And what about you?"

Draco took a deep breath. "My fate is uncertain regardless of which side wins. Now, how do I find the wandmaker?"

 **A/N: Finally, I know! Work has been hectic and I'm off to college in less than a month, but here it is! Please forgive the length. I will try to make the next one longer.**


	19. 19: Gregorovitch

Draco was waiting for Voldemort to say something as they sat in the drawing room, accompanied by Snape and Wormtail. Why it was necessary to pull the headmaster out of school, he wasn't sure. However, he did know what his master's next words would be.

"How did you come to learn this?"

"My Lord, since you were so busy with more important matters, I took it upon myself to continue tracking down Gregorovitch. I wondered who could possibly know his whereabouts when I remembered that he was the chosen wandmaker of Durmstrang. So I owled Viktor Krum that I was looking for a better wand than what Ollivander had provided me with."

"And he gave you this location?"

Draco nodded. "He said the wandmaker was a close family friend that his family was helping to hide."

"Hide? Is he not aware of your status as a Death Eater? Or does he secretly support us?"

"Oh, I should probably mention that I didn't owl him as Draco Malfoy. I owled him as Theodore Nott Jr, who is with the Order and no doubt best of friends with Potter's crew, which includes Herimone Granger, a former love interest of Krum."

"So," Snape drawled, "Krum is helping in the best interest of a squib-born. And what, may I ask, is my part in all this?"

"Draco and I will go after the wandmaker while you accompany Wormtail and ensure he goes nowhere and does nothing."

The former Potions master's face was expressionless, but it was still evident that he wished Wormtail would wander away and fall into some situation where death was guaranteed.

"Of course, my Lord." With a crack, Snape grabbed Wormtail and apparated away.

Voldemort didn't even bother looking at Draco as he spoke, "I trust you will find your way to that address immediately." Then he materialized into the air.

Draco could only hope that Krum had prepared as Draco had instructed. When Stanley told Draco the only way to find Gregorovitch would be through the Krum family, the only people the wandmaker said he trusted other than the Lysons before leaving them in his former home, Draco knew he had to contact Viktor.

 _Mister Viktor Krum,_ he had written.

 _You may remember me from Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament three years ago. We had a mutual friend in Hermione Granger. As I am sure you are aware, she is in danger at the moment. For what I am to tell you, I require complete discretion._

 _In order to keep Hermione safe, I must distract the Dark Lord with a prize such as Gregorovitch, for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named seeks answers about a wand. I have come to learn that only your family can help us find the wandmaker. I write to you to choose who to protect: the brightest witch of her age, only a seventh year, or an old man whose days are numbered anyway._

 _You have until Sunday to ensure none of your family members will interfere with Gregorovitch's capture so that they may remain safe. This means if you are currently in the same building, you must leave him or he must leave you. If he signals for help, none can come._

 _I know it is difficult to trust a stranger, but know that the wandmaker's capture can in no way harm Hermione, even in the long run._

 _Turn over this parchment and write the address, giving me your word that you will comply with these instructions, and send it back with the same bird._

 _Thank you,_

 _Draco Malfoy_

Of course, one mention of Hermione and the thick-headed Quidditch star had no reason not to trust Draco. This and Duchess's exceptional ability to deliver mail without getting caught were the only reasons Draco even included his real name in the first place. He initially hope it would incite some fear, but Krum seemed to remember his blond hair from the time they were in the library and Krum asked her to the Yule Ball.

Draco had transferred Krum's quick and non-revealing response onto a new sheet of parchment and given it to Voldemort.

Just a second after Voldemort, Draco took a deep breath and vaporized to Bulgaria.

It only took him a couple of seconds, but it must have taken Duchess several hours to get there. She would need to rest for quite some time so he hoped he wouldn't need her anytime soon.

He landed behind the ruthless creature and took in the small shack in the middle of an entire row of shacks. Voldemort didn't even acknowledge him and simply began moving toward the shack.

From what Draco could tell, it was completely deserted, as were the others on the street. Seemingly. With a simple wave of his hand, Voldemort blasted the door open and entered. Inside it was dark but with a quick flash, light erupted and Gregorovitch was exposed.

"Please—"

The Dark Lord quickly sent the wandmaker into a full body bind and shot him up into the air, probably with _Levicorpus._

"You must have some reason to hide from me," he spoke mockingly. "Perhaps you have discovered I am searching for the Elder Wand. And if not, you know now. Tell me. Quickly, now. Where can I find what I seek?"

With another wave of Voldemort's hand, Gregorovitch found he was able to move once more, but he was still suspended in the air.

"I do not know. It was taken from me years ago, decades ago, I believe."

For a moment, it seemed that everything went still but Draco could somehow see that his master had delved into the wandmaker's memories to verify if this was true. As expected, a young Grindelwald snatched the wand from the younger Gregorovitch's shop and ran away after stunning the man, thus successfully becoming the master. However, Draco wasn't sure whether Voldemort realized he would have to win the wand from its previous owner.

They both came out of the memory. Draco noted that Voldemort didn't seem to notice that Draco had been in the old man's mind with him.

"So you tell the truth," he said. "I'm sure you'll want to know that the Muggle woman in your former residence also told the truth. Too bad what happened to her and her children, a fate you will welcome in a matter of seconds."

"No! Please, I helped you—"

"Avada kedavra!"

 _What a selfish man_ , Draco thought of the wandmaker. He must have known Voldemort would find William and Jane and their mother, but at least he would be safe. Or so he thought. He risked three live much younger than himself to stay alive just a bit longer.

"You see, Draco," Voldemort's voice came as they stepped outside, "how he died with no honor. Not a bit of regret in his soul. That's how my filthy Muggle father died. When I stood over his body, I could very clearly recall the selfishness in his eyes. Not one drop of recognition, not a care in the world for my mother, or for wizards at all. That's how all the Muggles are and their sympathizers as well."

Finally, he turned to face the boy. "I know you didn't kill your parents."

Draco remained expressionless and kept a strong igloo built in his mind.

The Dark Lord continued. "You don't posses the same strength I did when I killed my father and his parents. Of course, I was a bit older and much smarter _and_ they were Muggles whereas you haven't even finished schooling and your parents always seemed to be on your side." He paused dramatically. "I wish you hadn't lied to me to protect them. I do hope that the people you Polyjuiced were Muggles."

 _They were,_ Draco thought so Voldemort could see.

"I see they were. Nevertheless, you are not the traitor under my nose. It still remains to be seen who that is. You may not be as clever as I initially thought, but just enough to know which side is the righteous one. Your next task will be to determine who stole the Elder Wand all those year ago. And as for finding the wandmaker, it seems you were clever enough for that as well."

Five seconds later, Draco found himself alone in Malfoy Manor absolutely relieved that Voldemort didn't suspect him of anything other than having slight mental issues and being too emotional and young, apparently. Now he just needed to focus on his next task: figuring out how one would determine Grindelwald's identity if one didn't know it was him.


	20. 20: The Other Sword

"Ginny, you've had a lot of, erm, interesting ideas this year, but this one's probably the worst."

"Hush, Neville, you'll get us caught!"

"I'm sorry, but breaking into the headmaster's office in the first place will get us caught, especially since it's Snape's now!"

"Luna, do you mind?"

A light flashed from the Ravenclaw's wand and illuminated the small space in front of the office door.

"He's probably hexed the bloody Merlin out of this door," Neville whispered. "How are we going to completely disable all the charms?"

"Just remember what Draco taught us fifth year," Luna said.

"You mean Harry," Neville spoke sharply, "not that murderous Death Eater."

"Isn't that a bit redundant since they're already murderous?" Ginny joked.

"Not funny."

"Well, look, despite what you may think, and despite how much I love Harry, Malfoy did help us quite a bit that year."

"Why are you defending him?"

Since only the girls knew about Draco's true nature and his relationship with Hermione, neither said anything further regarding the matter.

"First we should try the revelation charm," Luna suggested.

Successfully distracted, Neville said, "What if an alarm goes off?"

"Then we'd better run," Ginny contributed. "Luna, go ahead."

The blonde raised her wand and performed the spell only for nothing to happen.

"It didn't work," Neville noted.

"No, it _did_ ," Ginny told him. "There must not be a single charm on here."

"Or they're just undetectable."

"You're so bloody paranoid."

"It _is_ a little strange," Luna admitted. "He doesn't use the gargoyle anymore so anyone can just walk right up here. And now the door's unprotected."

"Alohomora," Ginny whispered. Upon hearing the click, she carefully reached out and gave the door a tiny push.

To their surprise, it swung open.

Luna pointed her wand into the office.

"There it is!" Neville exclaimed, rushing inside.

"Shh!" Ginny reminded him.

"The sword of Godric Gryffindor," he spoke in hushed tones once the two girls joined him. He gazed at the sword through the glass case it was in. "Ginny, you're sure you heard Ron say this?"

"Yes, yes, they were all talking about how Dumbledore left the sword for Harry in his will and that's all I heard them mention before Fred and George decided to test out a new joke shop product. Those three 'heroes'" she motioned with air quotes "didn't tell me anything because they knew I'd want to come with them on whatever expedition they've gone on."

"Don't worry about them," Neville started, "we've got our own way of helping the cause. If there was no password and the door was unprotected, what are the chances we can get this out of the case without a problem?"

"Get back," Ginny whispered.

Luna and Neville obeyed. Ginny pointed at the case and spoke, "Reducto!"

The glass shattered without setting off a single alarm.

"Accio sword," Neville tried, wanting to avoid being cut by glass.

When nothing happened, Luna explained, "The sword is different. You can't just summon it; you have to take it. She stepped forward to get a better view of the sword. "Go on, Ginny." She stuck her wand in the case to better illuminate it.

Ginny lowered her wand and with her other arm, she carefully brushed glass off the hilt before wrapping her fingers around it. She gently pulled it out of the case and shook off the glass.

"Ginny, hold it out so I can wash the glass off," Neville instructed. When Ginny complied, he said, "Aguamenti," spraying water out of his wand and across the sword.

"Isn't the sword supposed to take in everything it comes into contact with?" Luna asked when she saw that the water was still dripping from the sword instead of being absorbed instantly. Draco had told her about the sword last year and how it could be used to destroy Horcruxes since it had absorbed the basilisk venom.

The others shrugged and Luna simply performed a drying charm because she recalled that Ginny and Neville wouldn't know about the sword's powers.

"Alright," Ginny said, "now we've got to get this down the stairs without making a fuss so everyone quiet."

"Where do we keep it?" Neville asked.

"Shh! We'll get to that later."

They exited the office and were just on their way down the stairs when the lights in the office went on behind them.

A familiar voice drawled, "You dare break into my office and attempt to steal an ancient artifact?"

The trio slowly turned around.

"We dare?" Neville repeated, stepping forward. "How dare you return to Hogwarts after what you did last year?"

Ignoring him, Snape continued, "This insolence will not be tolerated." He marched forward and held out his hand. "The sword."

Ginny reluctantly gave it up without resistance.

"You three will be serving your detention tomorrow night in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid so I suggest you return to bed immediately."

With that he shut the door to his office.

As the three made their way down the stairs, Neville said, "He was in there the whole time?"

"It's almost as if he knew we'd come for it and he wanted to catch us rather than prevent us," Luna observed.

"But why?"

"You know what's even more strange?" Ginny said. "Our detention is with Hagrid. That's not a punishment at all for us and he knows it!"

"Unless he was hoping the Carrows would be out and about ready to hex us for being out of bed," Neville responded. They had reached the bottom of the stairs now. He turned to Luna. "Do you, erm, want us to accompany you to your tower?"

"I'll be fine going back alone," she replied.

"You're sure?"

"Of course. Besides, if you two come along then you've got a better chance of getting caught."

"Right. Okay. Good night, then."

Back in his office, Snape was satisfied that those three tried to steal the sword just like he thought they would eventually. Now, he had an excuse to get it out of his office. He immediately notified the Dark Lord, who didn't seem to care all that much.

"Have Draco take it to Bellatrix's vault," Voldemort said, looking over the shattered case. "I have designated it safe enough to hold several items of value. As long as the sword stays out of the hands of anyone associated with Potter, it should not present any problems. They'll let him in because he's family, but only with this key." He pulled out a rather large golden key and handed it to Snape. "This itself won't open a thing, of course."

He then disappeared just as quickly as he came.

Snape fixed the case and transfigured it into a decoration piece before locking his door properly and placing several complex charms on it. Then he disappeared as well.

Draco awoke to a loud crack in his room. In an instant, he whipped out his wand only to find his godfather towering over him.

"I have something for you," the man drawled as he lit the room with his wand.

"Not that bloody sword again," Draco groaned when he saw it. "That the real one?"

"No, it is the replicated one. Three students attempted to steal this from my office tonight."

"They broke into _your_ office? Who and how?"

"I intentionally left it vulnerable so the Dark Lord would give me permission to enter Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. Or rather, give _you_ permission."

"It's the middle of the night."

"You'll go first thing in the morning. I need you to check for any potential Horcruxes. And of course, you must hide the sword in there. I placed a charm on it so that the retrieval spell will not work on it."

"In the morning," Draco repeated, about to return to sleep when he wondered something. "How did you know they'd come for it? And how did they even know you had it?"

"Dumbledore left it to Potter in his will to destroy Horcruxes with, but it seems Luna Lovegood is the only one who knows about the sword's powers."

"Yeah, I told her when Hermione was held captive by Bellatrix and Greyback, but I forgot to mention it to Hermione so she, Weasel, and Potter don't know why they need it."

"Well, I knew they would believe it was crucial that Potter have it just because Dumbledore wanted him to have it. And one day while Ginny Weasley was walking to class, I audibly let slip to the Carrows that I had more than just a wand to admonish them with in my office if they didn't behave themselves."

"So Luna was there, Weaslette was there, which must mean Longbottom was also there?"

Snape nodded.

"No wonder they fell for your trap. And Luna probably knew but said nothing because she knew your intentions."

"I'll leave the sword where only you can find it tomorrow morning. Oh, and there's a key I'll leave as well."

Draco shrugged and lay back down. When Snape left, he wondered what he could potentially find in his aunt's vault that Snape couldn't have gone after himself.


	21. 21: The Lestrange Vault

Draco cautiously walked down the main hall of Gringotts, slowly twirling Bellatrix's key in his pocket. The replicated sword banged against his leg from under his cloak.

As he approached the goblin all the way at the end, he could feel all eyes on him. Coming to a halt, Draco spoke, "I need to enter the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange, my aunt."

The goblin lowered his spectacles to examine Draco before saying, "Identification, please."

"Identification? Do you know who I am?"

The goblin didn't budge.

"My wand is broken, but I was given this key" Draco dramatically pulled out the golden object "by the Dark Lord himself. Try to make this as quick as possible, or I'll have to report your incompetence."

The goblin looked taken aback for a moment before turning to his assistant and telling him, "Griphook, please accompany Mister Malfoy" the goblins pointedly looked at Draco "to the vault of his aunt." The first goblin wrote down a number and handed the parchment to the one called Griphook.

Draco nodded thanks to the first goblin and put away his key before following Griphook. He led Draco to a cart on a set of rails.

"On you go," Griphook told him.

When they were both seated on the cart, Griphook pushed a lever and got them rolling. The cart traveled up and down and through jolting spirals before they approached a waterfall.

"Why do the rails go right through the waterfall?" Draco asked. "We'll get wet."

Griphook just smirked as they passed under it and turned around. "Looks like you passed the test. The Thief's Downfall is supposed to remove all enchantments and restore the intruder to his or her original state."

 _Good to know,_ Draco thought as he dried himself with Yaxley's wand. Soon, the cart came to a stop in front of a ledge and the two occupants climbed out. Suddenly, there was a low growl.

"Careful," Griphook told him as they walked into full view of a dragon. The dragon grew restless at the sight of Griphook and Draco. The goblin slowly grabbed a rattle from a crate and began shaking it as they walked past the dragon. Once safely through, Griphook explained, "Trained to feel pain when he hears sound."

Draco frowned as he thought about how angry that would make Hermione. He shook her out of his head and continued behind Griphook to a large door. The goblin pressed his palm to the door and it slowly creaked open. Draco stepped inside first.

"Be sure not to touch anything," Griphook warned. "The Gemino curse lies upon everything in this vault. Whatever you touch will—"

"Multiply," Draco finished as he turned to Griphook. "You've been here before."

"That I have, but only once, and it was to accompany your aunt and her husband to hide some artifact."

Snape must have figured out that it was a Horcrux they were hiding.

Griphook continued, "Before we left, Rodolphus Lestrange placed the curse to prevent anything from being stolen."

"Did you see what they hid?"

"I did not. They took measures to ensure that I did not."

Draco exhaled. As far as he knew, it was either the locket, the cup, or the sixth unknown Horcrux. Or perhaps Snape was wrong and it was none of those. He looked around for a place to put the sword where he would be able to get to without touching anything, but nearly the entire floor was covered with gold objects.

But as Dumbledore said once, dark magic always left traces. Draco's eyes followed the trace up a pyramid of chests to a shimmering gold cup. He unsheathed the fake sword and stepped forward, reaching out to the cup, when he was interrupted.

"What's taking you so long?" Griphook asked. "Just set the sword down where your feet are and let's get a move on before they accuse us of attempted burglary."

"Alright, alright," Draco put the sword back in its sheath and on the floor before stepping out of the vault. He would have to come back for it some other time. It wasn't until they had passed the dragon again that Draco finally realized what the goblin said.

"You said set the sword down."

Griphook kept walking, ignoring Draco, who was at the goblin's throat with Yaxley's wand in a quick flash. "The fake sword. Of course, since the real sword is goblin-made, you know this isn't it. I suppose the question then becomes how did you know I was depositing the sword? It could just have been a weapon, as I broke my wand, which you heard me say earlier."

"Why do you have a replica of the sword of Godric Gryffindor?"

"You need to get out," Draco said as he put his wand away and began walking. "Gringotts isn't safe for you anymore, not with that information."

"I'm good at my job, and you said you were here to deposit something—"

"No, I said I wished to enter the vault. You knew because Snape told you because he's already bribed you with the real sword, hasn't he?"

Griphook remained silent. Draco knew Snape must have required Griphook to ensure Draco didn't mess up his job as he'd messed up with the whole dead parent situation and to keep him from actually taking the Horcrux, but now Griphook was potentially dangerous to have around Gringotts.

"At any rate, you need to leave. Gringotts isn't run by goblins anymore, it's run by leftover Ministry wizards following the Dark Lord."

Griphook looked stunned. "Wizards? Gringotts bankers don't bow down to the likes of wizards!"

"They do now."

"Well, I refuse to do so! I will never lower myself to such standards where I have to do what a lying wizard tells me to do."

"Well, here I am, a lying wizard. And I need you to obey me."

A few minute later, Draco walked out of Gringotts with Griphook on his shoulders, both surrounded by the Invisibility Cloak. He then vaporized them to the Leaky Cauldron, landing in a back alley. Draco removed the cloak and set Griphook down.

"I'm not sure where you can go from here, but this is the only place I dare to take you while keeping myself safe. When this war is all over, we'll get the real sword to you. You have my word."

Griphook spat. "The word of a wizard."

"No, the word of Draco Malfoy. You also have my word that should you not keep today's events a secret, you'll meet a most untimely demised. Do I make myself clear?"

Griphook hesitated, then nodded curtly. Draco vaporized back to Malfoy Manor, feeling a sense of unease.

 **A/N: I'm back!**

 **I encourage you all to share this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!**


	22. 22: Runaway Ron

Hermione was pouring over some of the books she'd brought with her. How were they supposed to destroy Slytherin's locket if they didn't have a basilisk fang or a damaged Vanishing cupboard or the sword of Gryffindor? Not that Harry or Ron knew about the Horcrux-destroying capabilities of any of those things. Perhaps if she told them about the sword, at least, they'd know why Dumbledore wanted them to have it and where its thief possibly could have hidden it. But obviously she'd have to pretend she learned about it from her books rather than from Draco.

As she rummaged through her bag, looking for a book that might help her, she pulled out a book on the memory spell that she'd been using to try to make the cure. How was she to know if the cure would work? She'd been working on it for so long and although she felt it might be ready soon, she had no idea how to test it. She could Obliviate, for instance, Harry's memory of the past five minutes, then make him drink the potion and see if he remembered, but who was to say the potion could cure a lifetime's worth of memories, an identity?

"Hermione," said Harry as he stepped into the tent. "How's the cure going?"

"Fine," she lied, "but right now I'm trying to remember something I'd read before, about the sword of Godric Gryffindor. Where's my special artifacts book?"

"Oh, sorry, I have it somewhere." Harry disappeared and returned quickly with the book. "I was trying to learn about Slytherin's locket but there's nothing that can help us."

Hermione quickly flipped to the page about the sword. "Right, there. It's goblin made, the sword."

"Brilliant. And?"

"So, dirt and rust have no effect on the blade. It only takes in that which makes it stronger."

"Okay..."

"Look, you destroyed one Horcrux already! Down in the chamber of secrets, you destroyed the diary with a basilisk fang."

"Don't tell me you've got one of those in that bag of yours?"

"No, but basilisk venom is one of the few substances powerful enough to destroy a Horcrux, and you said that Malfoy stabbed the basilisk with the sword."

"Should've known he was a crazy bastard right then, I mean the snake was already dead."

"Harry! Don't you see? Crazy or not, because of what he did, the sword became impregnated with the basilisk venom."

Harry had a look of realization on his face. "It only takes in that which makes it stronger. The sword can destroy Horcruxes!"

"And that's why Dumbledore left it to you in his will."

Harry sat down across from Hermione. "Brilliant, but there's one problem."

Just then, the lights went out, and Ron stepped into their section of the tent.

"The sword was stolen," he spoke. He looked at them with distaste. "Yeah, I'm still here. But you two carry on. Don't let me spoil the fun. Just don't expect me to be grateful just because there's another damn thing we've got to find," Ron spat out.

"I thought you knew what you signed up for."

"Yeah, I thought I did too."

"Well, I'm sorry," Harry got up, "but I don't quite understand. What part of this isn't living up to your expectations? Did you think we were gonna be staying in a five-star hotel, finding a Horcrux every other day? You thought you'd be back with your mum by Christmas?" As he spoke, he circled round to the other side of Ron.

"I just thought, after all this time, we'd actually be getting somewhere! I thought you knew what you were doing, I thought Dumbledore would've told you something worthwhile! I thought you had a plan!"

"I told you everything he told me, and in case you haven't noticed, we've actually found a Horcrux."

"And we're as close to getting rid of it as we are to finding the rest of them, aren't we?"

Hermione stepped forward and split the two boys apart. "Ron, take off the locket. You've been wearing it all day. Otherwise you wouldn't be saying any of this."

Ron ignored her and glared at Harry. "You know why I listen to that radio all day? Every day? So I don't hear Ginny's name. Or Fred or George or Mum—"

"You think I'm not listening too? You think I don't know how this feels?"

"No, you don't know how it feels! Your parents are dead and you have no family! Neither of you does!"

Harry instantly charged at Ron as Hermione yelled for them to stop, reluctantly putting up a shield between them. The boy flew away from each other and landed on the ground.

"Go then!" Harry told Ron as they both stood up.

Ron took off the locket and threw it at Harry's feet before grabbing his bag and turning to Herimone.

"And you? Are you coming or are you staying?"

"What, you want me to just leave him on his own? Especially when there's a whole group of murderers after him?"

"After all of us, Herimone! And I get it, you choose him. You always would have."

She gasped, insulted that he didn't know any better. "Choose him? I wouldn't choose him because I wouldn't want to choose between my two best friends!"

Ron scoffed. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. I've seen the two of you together, working, thinking, even just walking."

"Ronald, if this is about you feeling like we're leaving you out, I'll remind you that you're meant to be resting. Or do you not want to get out of that arm sling?"

"Sure, sure blame it on that. You know, this summer I'd heard something really strange. Something from my mum and Ginny about your secret boyfriend. Maybe I was wrong—maybe this whole time, Ginny's been pretending to see Harry so I wouldn't know who he's really with."

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron!" Hermione exclaimed.

"You know how I feel about Ginny," Harry told him. "I'm not pretending. The three of us, we're like siblings."

"Well, except for you two have done away with your families and mine are still vulnerable."

"Ron, if this is about me rejecting you last year, I thought you were over it!" Hermione told him.

Harry turned to her. "What?"

They both ignored him as Ron mockingly said, "Well, Hermione, I'm happy for you. At least it's not Malfoy," he spat, "because at least you'd have the sense to pick me over him."

"Ron, I know this isn't about any one thing, and if you want, we can talk about all of it. But you have to stay and help us. We can't do it on our own."

Scoffing again, Ron said, "Sure, now you want to talk. And seeing how long you two have been getting along while I've been injured, maybe you _can_ do it on your own."

With that, he marched out the door.

"Ronald, wait!" Hermione shouted, following him. "You can't risk apparating!" But it was too late.

 **A/N: I know it's a short chapter, but it was formerly twice the length and still not done so I put the second half in the next chapter which should be out within the day since it's almost done. Happy holidays to everyone! (Speaking of which, the Godric's Hollow Christmas chapter is going to be 24 so hopefully that'll be out before the new year!)**


	23. 23: Two Purebloods

Unfortunately for Ron, he apparated right into the midst of a group of Snatchers. "Bloody hell," he muttered.

"Well, well, well, look who we've got here!" Scabior said, eyeing Ron. "It's a wee little Weasley!" The other five Snatchers cackled furiously. "Grab him."

Within a few seconds flat, Ron was on the ground without a wand, being whisked away to Malfoy Manor.

Draco was in the library when he heard a commotion coming from his foyer so he quickly hurried over.

"Why can't any of you imbeciles do your jobs without making any noise?" he demanded as he walked in and saw who was there.

"Weasley." The Gryffindor wrestled to get free from his captors, wincing as one of them pulled on his injured arm.

"Malfoy. I see you're still a greasy git."

"And I see you still have no magical ability. Granger and Potter—well, maybe not Potter, but definitely Granger—could avoid being in such a situation."

"Don't you dare talk about my friends like you haven't been plotting their demise ever since you met them!"

"Friends?" Scabior repeated. "Where were these friends of yours when you apparated into the midst of our little group?"

Draco exaggeratedly put his finger to his chin. "Scabior, do you mean to suggest that the Weasel abandoned his precious friends? And why would you do that?"

"I didn't abandon them!"

"Sure, you didn't. At any rate, it seems like you regret your decision." From the looks of it, Weasley really did regret it, and not just because he was caught. "Too bad, or I would've offered you a place within our ranks."

"I'd rather die than work with you!" Weasley spat.

Draco laughed in mockery. "Oh, you wouldn't be working _with_ me, you'd be working _for_ me. Indirectly for the Dark Lord, of course, but mostly kitchen help would do. After all, you must have learnt well from your dear mum, the Weasleys' own little—well, not little—house-elf."

"I'll kill you!" Weasley struggled to get away, no doubt so he could strangle the life out of Draco.

"Snatchers, please escort him to the dungeons, and do us all a favor by placing a silencing spell on him. Merlin knows I've had enough of his voice for the past six and a half years of my life."

As soon as Scabior and the others dragged Weasley away, Draco went up to his room to think. He knew Weasley would probably be used to get to Potter and Hermione, and being Gryffindors, they would no doubt bite the bait. As clever as Hermione was, they'd have no other option than to correctly assume their friend would be killed if they didn't come.

But he'd already helped Luna escape earlier that year and blamed it on Wormtail, who was now under Snape's care. How in the world would he manage to get away with it this time?

When he heard the Snatchers coming back from the dungeons, Draco made his was down the stairs. In an instant, he stunned them all and erased their memories from the moment they saw Weasley. He grabbed the keys from Scabior and took a breath before heading down the stairs.

It was quite a sight: Weasel running his mouth off, but no sounds were coming out. Draco was sure he could make out a couple of unnecessary swear words before lifting the spell.

"—you absolutely pathetic piece of—"

"Alright, simmer down, simmer down," Draco commanded as he walked forward to the cell.

"Don't shush me! I swear when I get out—what are you doing?"

Draco unlocked the cell and opened the door.

"You're letting me go?"

"No sense in keeping you round, really."

Weasley looked extremely confused. "You're tricking me. I'm sure of it."

"Right. Look, just tell me, why did you leave?"

"Where's my bag?"

Draco rolled his eyes before summoning the bag to him from the Snatcher's. "Here. Why did you leave?"

Weasley grabbed his bag and started walking towards the dungeon door, keeping a wary eye on Draco who followed him.

"You know, they can't do this alone. And I'm not sure what exactly you've got to offer, but one person can't bring down the Dark Lord, not even Granger and Potter together can." And although Draco knew this, that's when he really realized it. Who was he to think he was the Wizarding World's only hope when he hadn't been alone this whole time?

"Bring down the Dark Lord?" Weasley repeated. "You're barking."

"My Patronus is a wolf, not a dog. But that's the ultimate goal, isn't it? To bring him down? Tell me, how goes the Horcrux hunt?"

Wealsey looked more and more surprised by the minute, especially as they reached the foyer and he saw the stunned Snatchers.

"At this point, Weasel, you can assume I know most everything you do about this whole situation. I'm only telling you because I need you to go back. I know you regret leaving them, but I can tell you're not sure what to do next."

Weasley just gaped for a good minute before sputtering out. "We found the locket. The real one."

"What? Slytherin's locket? What do you mean real?" Draco chuckled. "I'm surprised you're even telling me."

"At the end of last year, Harry and Dumbledore went to a cave to find a Horcrux, which turned out to be fake. In September, we got hold of the real one, but we can't destroy it. And yeah, I'm telling you because you're letting me go and it doesn't seem like a trick since your Snatchers are knocked out, and you know about stuff your boss never would've told you, but Dumbledore might have."

Draco cocked an eyebrow at him. "Boss?"

"Er, sorry."

"Anyway, you can't destroy it? I can help you with that, but you'll have to give me a while."

"If you're really on our side, why'd you let Snape kill Dumbledore?"

Draco stopped walking. "I didn't know he was about to do that." He opened the front door and resumed walking, not wanting to reveal Snape's status as a double agent by telling Weasley he expected Snape to let Dumbledore live. "Right, so first we've got to get you back. Do you know where you were? If I can take you outside and you can apparate from there, if you're strong enough." He looked pointedly at Weasley's arm.

"I should be."

"And what if they've already gone? I don't suppose you all stayed somewhere too long, especially this time if they don't think you're coming back."

"I dunno, I'll go to Bill and Fleur's."

"And where's that?"

"I'm not telling you!"

"You might as well. Besides, how am I supposed to get you the sword of Gryffindor if I don't know where any of you are?"

"Gryffindor? You're the one who stole it?"

Draco scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, of course not. But I know where I can find it. I don't know if you know this, but the sword can—"

"Destroy Horcruxes, yeah, Hermione just found out."

Draco almost smiled at the thought of Hermione lying to her best friends to protect the Draco.

"Maybe you should go to Bill and Fleur's for now and wait until I get the sword. Then I'll find you and we'll try to find Potter and Granger together."

"Shell Cottage, that's where it is. It's on the outskirts of Tinworth, Cornwall, near the coast."

They had reached the gates of Malfoy Manor. Draco waved an arm over the point where the two halves met and they swung open. Weasley looked astonished and Draco had to bite his lip to keep himself from making a snarky comment.

"I don't know how quickly I can get the sword because who knows what tasks I might be needed for."

"You mean for Vol—"

"Don't say his name, it's taboo. The Snatchers will be able to find your location instantly."

"Well, not right now, they're not."

"You realize there are other groups of Snatchers?"

From the look on Weasley's face, it was clear that he hadn't. Draco took a moment to enter Weasley's mind and see the location where he was caught.

"So have you always been on our side?" Weasley asked. "Or did something change your mind?"

Draco didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Don't tell anyone about this. If asked, you escaped on your own. I know that's going to be hard to believe, but just keep quiet about the truth."

"Well, thanks, I suppose. This is sort of awkward because I've hated you for so long."

"Right. I really didn't think you'd trust me. Anyway, careful with that arm. Maybe wait until you're healed to owl me and I'll bring you the sword."

"Isn't it dangerous for you if I owl you?"

"Just write 'heeled' with two E's and if the note's intercepted, no one will know what to think of it."

Weasley nodded, still acting awkward. "Alright, then. I'm off." With that, he apparated away.

Draco closed the gates and turned on his heels, heading back inside. After placing the dungeon cell keys back in Scabior's pocket, he vaporized all the Snatchers to the place he'd seen in Weasley's mind and stood them upright before bringing them back to consciousness and quickly vaporizing back home. Turned out Yaxley's wand wasn't half bad, but it still wasn't the same as his own.

He returned to his room, took out the pieces of Merlin's wand, closed his eyes. He wanted it back so badly that he almost didn't realize when there was a large snapping noise. His eyes flew open and he saw not two pieces of the wand, but one whole wand that looked as if it had never broken.

How did this happen? He'd read that he needed to learn humility to get his wand back, but when had that happened? Then he remembered that earlier he had acknowledged that he alone couldn't defeat Voldemort and that every effort on the light side counted.

He grasped Merlin's wand—his wand—in his right hand, and pointed to his lamp. "Wingardium leviosa." And just as he'd hoped, the lamp floated in the air. He set the lamp down and put the other two wands away, wondering why the Elder wand actually worked this time without draining him completely. He took out his book on famous wands and flipped to the page about the Elder Wand, where he read that there were certain wands that were so potent that if the owner was not in possession of his actual wand, the Elder wand would be an incredibly difficult substitute. Merlin's wand was listed as one of five wands that this applied to.

Smirking, Draco put the book back and lied down on his bed. Just because he'd finally proven his humility to the magical forces of the Wizarding World didn't mean he couldn't be a little proud every now and then.

 **A/N: And as promised, here's the new chapter, and I managed a pretty decent length. I hope you like Draco and Ron's chat, which I hadn't intended at all. In fact, Draco was just going to do it all secretly without Ron finding out, but I realized there was no harm in them working it out and that Ron might need that extra push from Draco. Hopefully it was believable that Ron, albeit unsure at first, decided to trust Draco eventually.**

 **Next chapter is gonna be Godric's Hollow, and if there's room, another mini adventure!**


	24. 24: Godric's Hollow

Before Draco knew it, Christmas was approaching quickly. Weasley was apparently still mending because he hadn't written to Draco yet, so the Slytherin had just been practicing magic and researching as best as he could, trying to figure out how to serve make the connection between Gregorovitch and Grindelwald.

As he flipped once more through _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore_ , he came across yet another image of young Grindelwald. It was the same boy from Gregorovitch's memory that Voldemort and Draco, unbeknownst to the former, had seen. How would Draco connect them without presenting the final connection to Dumbledore? Just then, he noted a source of Rita Skeeter's. Bathilda Bagshot. Surely the famous historian would have a picture of her more famous great nephew. According to Skeeter, Bagshot still lived there.

Draco knew Hermione would be too smart to let Potter go to Godric's Hollow because Voldemort might set a trap. So Draco suggested to Voldemort a trap to set.

"My lord, I apologize for not making much progress on the wand, but I've realized an excellent way to utilize our time."

Voldemort didn't speak, merely, gesturing for him to continue.

"You see, there's one place in the whole world Potter must be dying to go to: his infant home."

"You believe we should go to Godric's Hollow?"

"I believe you could set an easy trap. Christmas is this week and it's no doubt the perfect time for him to visit. The Prophet says Bathilda Bagshot celebrated a birthday recently—no doubt she's still living there. And she would be the perfect bait because she knew both the Potters and the Dumbledores. He wouldn't be able to resist speaking with her."

As Voldemort considered the proposition, Draco wondered for a brief moment why the realization that Bagshot could be in danger was just crossing his mind. After the death of Charity Burbage he thought he'd never let someone else die to protect his cover, but then he went after Gregorovitch, and now he was going after two more people. But there really wasn't any other way was there? And after all, Voldemort couldn't use her if she was dead. At most, he'd probably just Imperius her.

"I'll admit, Draco, this is rather intelligent."

Draco was shocked to be complimented so blatantly. He bowed his head. "Thank you, my Lord. I will continue to put many hours into this cause."

"Good to hear. I have already decided how we can do this. You can get to Godric's Hollow on your own? I will meet you there shortly." Before Draco could say anything, the Dark Lord disappeared.

Draco quickly vaporized to the picture he'd seen of the village and looked around for Voldemort.

"Where is he?" he wondered aloud.

Several minutes late, the Dark Lord appeared down the street in front of the graveyard, but he wasn't alone—Nagini had accompanied him. Noticing Draco, Voldemort beckoned for the boy to follow. Soon, they arrived in front of an old tattered house.

"Bagshot lives here?"

Voldemort nodded. "We'll go in and have a quick chat with her, make sure she... _understands_...her duties."

Draco wasn't sure what he meant by that but signaled that he was ready to head inside.

They slowly made their way to the front door. On Voldemort's cue, Draco knocked. No answer.

"It seems we'll have to let ourselves in," the Dark Lord said. In a swift motion, he opened the door and entered. As Draco walked in behind the snake, he took in a strong smell of dust. Bagshot must have been holed up in there for awhile, possibly to avoid any contact Death Eaters.

"Lumos maxima," Draco whispered, lighting up the room. It wasn't disorganized, but it wasn't particularly put together. He watched as Voldemort caught a glimpse of a photograph on the shelf. He moved closer and picked it up, clearly recognizing it. When he moved away, Draco saw the mischevious eyes of Gellert Grindelwald staring back at him.

Mission accomplished.

"Stay here and keep a watchful eye."

Draco snapped his head from the picture as Voldemort and Nagini silently crept up the stairs. He furrowed his brows in deep thought. Why would the Dark Lord command Draco to stay downstairs when there were clearly no potential threats in the vicinity? Unless he didn't want Draco to know what he was about to do.

A few moments later, the Dark Lord returned, but without his snake. He looked at Draco. "It seems we have made progress on the status of the wand."

"That's excellent news, sir, but how?"

"Bathilda Bagshot knew the boy who stole from Gregorovitch. You might know him as the second greatest dark wizard of all time."

"Grindelwald," Draco spoke. "I've read about him."

"Read some more. We must determine where he is."

"And Nagini? Where is she?" By this time, Draco had already figured out that a certain historian was dead and a certain snake would be awaiting Potter's arrival.

"She'll be accompanying our beloved historian until Potter is caught."'

Feigning ignorance, Draco said, "Oh, alright then. I'll begin researching Grindelwald as soon as I get home."

"Good." With that, Voldemort vaporized away. Glancing around one last time, Draco went home. As he prepared for bed, he really hoped Hermione would make sure Potter never set foot in his old village.

Unfortunately, Harry and Hermione's choices were limited. Hermione was perched on a rock overlooking beautifully clear water, a cool breeze wafting through the early evening.

She hear footsteps approaching. "Harry," she called turning.

Harry sat down beside her.

Hermione continued. "I've changed my mind. I think we should go to Godric's Hollow."

Harry frowned. "I thought you said it would likely be a trap."

"Yes, but I'm starting to think the sword might be there."

"I don't understand. Isn't the sword at Gringotts? That's what they said on Potterwatch. After Ginny, Neville, and Luna broke in—"

"Snape transferred the sword to Gringotts, yes. But it's a fake."

"A fake?"

Hermione nodded. "At least according to an unnamed goblin who escaped from Gringotts after helping Snape deposit the sword. I heard about it a couple days after Ron left, but I was working on the cure and got distracted."

"So," Harry began, "if it's a fake, what does that mean? Dumbledore left me the sword and Snape just happened to find a fake version of it?"

"I've no clue about that, but if Dumbledore wanted you to find the sword without tipping off the Ministry, he'd hide it somewhere we'd know to look. A place that means a great deal to the both of you."

"Godric's Hollow."

"There's also the fact that Bathilda Bagshot lives there and she knew both your families. Who better for Dumbledore to trust than her?"

"Well, there's no need to convince me." Harry jumped up. "Let's go."

"Wait! We're not even ready." She reached into her bag and pulled out jackets for them both. "It's probably a million degrees colder in England than in Crete, even though it's not quite evening there yet."

Harry put on his jacket as Hermione packed away their tent. Putting on her coat, she asked, "Ready?"

Harry nodded and held out his arm.

"No, Harry, are you ready?" Hermione knew this was a huge deal for him. He hadn't returned to Godric's Hollow since he was an infant.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Hermione gave him a reassuring look before grabbing his arm and apparating them to the location pictured in Dumbledore's biography. They landed in the middle of the street, which was covered in snow. It was still light outside, but the sky seemed to be growing darker.

"Really wish we had the cloak right now," Hermione muttered.

"No," Harry said, "I wouldn't want to hide in my own hometown."

"Harry, we've got to be very careful." She hesitated. "Maybe we should go back—return with Polyjuiced disguises—"

"Hermione, no, I wanted to come back as myself and no one else. Besides, if Bathilda Bagshot's here, she'll recognize me and help us."

Hermione was unsure but knew it was too late to go back. She followed Harry to the graveyard ahead. The village looked empty but she could see the decorated wreaths on people's doors and heard voices singing and laughing inside.

"Harry," she spoke as she approached him. "Harry, I think it's Christmas Eve."

No response.

"Harry." She caught up to him and read the names on the graves he was staring at. Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore.

"There was so much we didn't know about him," Harry said. "So much he didn't tell us."

"In his defense, it never came up."

Harry looked at her. "Never came up? Six years and he never once mentioned the fact that he had a sister? Or a brother, for that matter. I had to find out about both in the bloody paper. What else is he hiding?"

"Look, maybe he himself didn't want to remember his past. Or maybe he didn't think it would be appropriate to discuss. He doesn't owe you anything."

"Hermione, the problem is that everyone keeps hiding things from me! Okay?" Harry looked frustrated beyond belief. "I mean, my own aunt and uncle lied to me about my parents. You and Ron weren't allowed to tell me about the Order of the Phoenix. And now it turns out that the man I knew all this time might not really have been himself. If I find out about one more thing being kept from me, I'll just go at it alone because that's what it already feels like!"

Hermione didn't know what to say. How could she comfort him when she too was hiding so much?

"We all have a part to play, Harry," she began somewhat uneasily. "When people hide things from the people they love, it's to protect them. You never know why someone does what he or she does."

Harry didn't say anything.

"Come on, we have to focus. First, let's go find your parents."

When they came to the grave of James and Lily Potter, Hermione noted the emptiness inside Harry. She conjured a wreath and placed it on the ground. Harry gave her an appreciative look.

"I'll give you a moment alone," she told him and left to wander through the cemetery. She walked through the rows until she came across a large stone with a very familiar symbol. She pulled out _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ and flipped to the right page. Harry was now walking to her so she called out to him.

"Come take a look at this." When he got to the grave, she continued, "Ignotus Peverell. And you see that mark? It matches this one." She pointed to the same triangle-circle-line combination on the page of the book.

"Peverell..." Harry repeated.

"I've heard that name somewhere, I'm sure of it—"

"Shh, Hermione," Harry cut her off. He frowned at something behind her. "We're being watched."

Hermione turned around very slowly. "That's Bathilda Bagshot."

 **A/N: And look who's back! I would've posted this last night but it started getting longer than I thought so I finished today and it's still really long SO I'll finish off the Godric's Hollow stuff in the next chapter which I'll hopefully post tomorrow.**

 **It took awhile to get back into the groove but I've signed up for April's CampNaNoWriMo so I can commit to finishing this book as quickly as possible. I'm not sure how many more chapters there will be because I thought this chapter would include all of the Godric's Hollow stuff plus another sequence of events but it'll be one or two more chapters for all that to get done. All I know is that Easter is fast approaching—both in the real world, and in this book, if anyone remember's what's so special about that :)**


	25. 25: Bathilda Bagshot?

"Harry, I'm not so sure about this," Hermione whispered as they followed Bathilda Bagshot into her home.

"Just keep your wand out. We'll be fine."

As Hermione entered through the door, she caught a whiff of something potent. "Ugh, it smells like—like rotting meat or something."

The two of them looked around the dark house.

"Lumos," Hermione whispered. Harry inched closer to a shelf on the wall. He was looking at a framed photograph.

"Who is it? Herimone asked.

Harry turned to her. "Remember when I saw You-Know-Who threatening that man about the Elder wand? Gregorovitch, most likely."

"Is that him?"

"No, but it's the wizard who stole the wand from him."

Hermione stepped forward to examine the picture. "I think I've seen his face before somewhere but I'm really not sure."

There was a clatter and the two Gryffindors whipped around to see Bagshot staring at them with emotionless eyes. She beckoned for Harry to follow her upstairs.

"I'm coming with you," Hermione told him.

"I don't think she wants that. Maybe she doesn't know if she can trust you yet."

Herimone reluctantly gave in. "Just be careful."

"She's an old lady, Hermione, what can she do?"

"It's not her I'm worried about. For all we know, someone could have laid down a trap here without here even knowing."

"I'll be fine."

Harry slowly followed Bagshot up the stairs. Hermione took the woman's absence to look around. It seemed like no one had been living here for some time. Dust was collecting on the furniture, the books seemed untouched. In fact, everything except the photograph on the shelf seemed like it hadn't been moved in ages.

She carefully approached the shelf and picked up the picture. Where had she seen him before? Rummaging through her bag, she pulled out a few books and flipped through them before tossing them back in. Finally, she pulled out _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore_. It was growing more familiar. She kept turning the pages until—there it was—the same boy from the photograph.

"Gellert Grindelwald." The dark wizard? She'd only flipped through the book before and hadn't actually read this section. "Bathilda Bagshot's great-nephew..."

Apparently Grindelwald and Dumbledore had been friends when younger, a friendship that ultimately ended with the death of Ariana Dumbledore. Some time later, Dumbledore defeated Grinelwald to get the Elder Wand. If Voldemort found out Grindelwald stole the wand from Gregorovitch, there would only be one more step until he realized Dumbledore had it last and the wand was most likely buried with the headmaster. That couldn't happen—who knew what Voldemort would be capable of with the most powerful wand on Earth in his possession?

Suddenly, there was a shout and a smash.

 _Harry!_ she thought.

She quickly clambered up the stairs and followed the thumps to a room where a snake was coiling itself around Harry.

Instantly, she shot the snake with a Knockback Jinx, sending it flying away from Harry.

"Hermione, my wand!"

Hermione looked around frantically as Harry ran past her into another room. She finally spotted it just as the snake leaped back at her. Hermione rolled away before the snake could get her, grabbing the wand as she left.

Ignoring Hermione, the snake slammed through the brick wall into the room Harry was in. Hermione followed it through the hole.

Harry was jumping from side to side without as the snake kept trying to attack him.

Harry jumped to the right as Hermione pointed both wands at the snake and yelled, "Confringo!"

The blasting curse exploded the window across from Hermione and dropped the snake through a newly formed hole in the ground. Half of Harry's wand clattered to the ground, having broken off from the curse. She quickly swept it up before running to Harry.

"Hermione, it's his snake. That's—"

"We need to leave now. It's already—"

"Watch out!"

As the snake leaped from the hole, Harry grabbed Hermione's arm and jumped backwards out the window.

"Hold on!" Hermione yelled before apparating them to safety. Just before they disappeared, Voldemort whisked onto the scene and watched them vanish.

Meanwhile, not thrilled to be spending Christmas Eve alone for once, especially since last year was much more eventful, Draco was at a Muggle theater to see the Muggle play _A Christmas Carol_ when it happened.

He was pushed into a cold, black night in an old village. It was suddenly clear he was in Godric's Hollow. His eyes were like a camera as they pushed into a house and the first thing he saw was a man who looked uncannily like Potter. Was this his father?

Potter Sr. looked like he was going to fight Draco but in an instant, there was a blast of green light and the man fell to the floor. Draco realized he was reliving the night the Potters died through Voldemort's point of view.

Up the stairs he went, following the sound of a baby crying. He entered the room the sound was coming from. A red-haired woman was trying to console an infant boy. Potter and his mum.

"Shh," she was whispering. "It's all going to be okay. Mama loves you."

She whipped around and cast her body over Potter as the green light hit her right in the stomach. Potter began wailing loudly. A third strike of green, and then nothing.

Draco was back in the theater. The ghost of Christmas past had just dropped Scrooge back at his home, passing him onto the ghost of Christmas present. Draco rose from his seat at the edge of the aisle and left the theater as quickly as he could. Within seconds, he was back home, awaiting Voldemort's arrival.

Only he didn't come alone.

 **A/N: Here you go! Sorry it's so short, but it seemed like a good place to stop given the length of the next event on my list. I'm starting school again on Monday but I intend to upload during the week. My workload isn't too bad this term compared to before (at least it doesn't seem too bad) so hopefully I'll be writing a lot.**

 **As always, I encourage you all to share this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!**


	26. 26: Repeat Technique

The room was silent. Voldemort had just told them all that Potter escaped from his grip by just a few seconds. Clearly he was growing impatient. As Draco glanced around the room full of Death Eaters, he was unsure what to think. He was a little distressed that Hermione had risked her and Potter's lives by agreeing to Godric's Hollow, but he was extremely relieved that they'd gotten away. In addition, he wasn't sure how much blame the Dark Lord would place on Draco for failing to catch Potter. And on top of that, Draco hadn't yet figured out how to locate Grindelwald so as far as he was concerned, he was pretty high on Voldemort's list of people to take his anger out on.

Snape's voice snapped Draco back to reality. The professor said, "At least we have learned that Potter is vulnerable to visiting places of importance to him. Perhaps we simply need another location he may soon visit."

"Who do we know to be his allies?" Voldemort prompted.

"The Weasleys?" Rabastan suggested. "We could go after the Burrow again." He and some of his friends cackled idiotically.

"Potter wouldn't dare go there," Draco couldn't help blurt out. He had hoped to remain silent throughout the discussion so as not to draw any attention to him and his failed plan. But for some reason, Draco couldn't let the Weasleys bear another attack, especially after somewhat reconciling with Ron Wealsey weeks ago.

"Malfoy Junior's got something to say!" Rabastan mocked. "I'm sorry, but wasn't it _your_ plan that failed?"

"That will be enough, Rabastan," Snape ordered. "As a matter of fact, Draco's plan was to anticipate Potter's visit to Godric's Hollow and he was correct in that assumption. What we didn't anticipate was the involvement of Hermione Granger. We believed she'd gone into hiding with her parents."

 _Please don't bring Hermione into this_ , Draco thought.

"At any rate," Draco began, drawing attention away from Hermione, "I don't see any of you coming up with ways to locate Potter. Not to mention even he can't locate his own allies. Everyone has fled or gone into hiding. He doesn't have much left."

Just then, a brown owl flew in with the Daily Prophet. Draco placed the correct change into a pouch tied to its leg before it flew away.

"Yet there are still those that persevere," Voldemort commented. "The Prophet may be ours, but the Quibbler is another story."

Where was he going with this?

"Because of Wormtail's incompetence, Xenophilius Lovegood never learned which side it would be wiser to support. This time, Luna Lovegood does not escape. You all must leave for his home right now. I have business to attend to."

"But my Lord," Macnair called, "it's Christmas!"

"Oh, it will be," Voldemort creepily assured him as he vaporized away to whatever business he had.

Everyone just looked around, not making any efforts to get up.

"Well?" Draco prompted, knowing he needed to take charge so he could ensure Luna's safety. "You heard the master. Get moving!"

Reluctantly, the Death Eaters departed Malfoy Manor and made for the Lovegoods' home. Landing in front of the door, Draco signaled to the others. "You all surround the house. You three search the house except for the first floor, where I'll go negotiate with the father. The rest of you branch out and search the vicinity."

Draco could only hope that he found her first. He knew she was an outdoors person, but she could be anywhere with her new apparating skills that Draco had missed out on during his 6th year. Would Xenophilius trust him? Would he trust that Draco could manage yet another miraculous escape?

He entered the house into a room with a kitchen on one side and a seating area on the other. Xenophilius Lovegood was putting on a kettle. The man turned and startled at the sight of Draco. He turned to look out the window, a fleeting mask of fear passing his face.

"I presume the Dark Lord is not too pleased with me," the man spoke.

Draco shook his head. "No, he is not. But you can change that. Hand over your daughter."

Xenophilius looked at him curiously. "And then what? You'll return her to me under the nose of your cruel leader? You do not think he will be more cautious this time?"

"Mr. Lovegood, please. I don't have much time. Just tell me where Luna is. I will find her and relocate her to safety, but I must do it before I am discovered. Do you understand me?"

"So you mean to say you will not be returning my daughter to me at all."

"As editor of the Quibbler, you are under severe scrutiny. Luna will never be safe if she remains here."

Xenophilius hesitated. "Just before you all arrived, she went out to fetch some more water from the pond. She'll be returning shortly."

"Did she apparate there or walk?"

"She apparated. It's a two mile journey."

Draco nodded his thanks. Good thing Luna hadn't walked because Draco would have no way of knowing how close she was to the clutches of the Death Eaters.

As if on cue, Luna materialized into the room. "Draco!" she immediately noticed. "How splendid to see you."

"Shh," Draco hushed. "They're looking for you upstairs. I'm going to take you to live with the Tonks family until your father has been cleared of speculation."

"Do they know about you?"

Draco shook his head. "I'll drop you off outside. Thanks to Theo and Pansy, who are currently living there, I know how to get there."

Luna nodded and turned to her father, setting down the jug of water in her hands. "Goodbye, Father. I'm sure we'll be reunited soon."

The older man simply nodded grimly.

Draco motioned for Luna to grab his arm before vaporizing them both to the Tonks' home.

"I must be getting back now to make sure your father is unharmed," Draco told her. "And I'm sure you've realized this, but you can't go back to Hogwarts in the new year."

"Thank you, Draco. And there's something I think you should know."

"What's that?"

Luna paused before saying, "The curse you had last year. From Marvolo Gaunt's ring. The reason it stopped bothering you is because Snape transferred the curse from your body to Dumbledore's."

Draco nearly dropped his wand. "Dumbledore took my curse?"

Luna nodded. "You would have died eventually so he took it upon himself."

Draco pondered for a moment. "Maybe that's why Snape killed him. He was dying anyway and Snape could prove his loyalty, make sure I didn't have to kill my own headmaster, and put Dumbledore out of his misery."

"I don't know if you've read Dumbledore's biography, but whatever's being said about him, I'm very sure that he cared about all of us."

"That he did," Draco spoke in a low voice. "Alright, well, I'll hopefully see you soon."

With that, he vaporized back to the Lovegood home before anyone noticed he was missing. He was relieved to find Xenophilius still moping about the first level.

"Mr. Lovegood, I'm afraid I've got to ask you to do something for the Dark Lord."

Xenophilius looked up with a dismal expression. "Have I not done enough?"

"Well in order to convince the Death Eaters that I've convinced you that we have your daughter, and in order for your life to be removed from all this scrutiny, you must help us. We believe Potter and his friends may come visit you, as you are one of his remaining allies. When they do, you are to report it immediately to the Dark Lord. Just owl me when they get here. Once you have fulfilled this duty, it will be safe for Luna to come back home. If the Dark Lord finds out you have kept Potter hidden, I reckon it won't end well."

"Give me your word, Draco Malfoy, that this will all end soon."

Draco sighed. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that." He turned and exited the home, whistling for everyone to come back.

"What's happened?" Macnair demanded. "Did we get 'em?"

"Where's the girl?" Someone in the back yelled.

"Nice little girl for the taking!" was shouted, followed by a mass of cackles.

"Enough!" Draco ordered. "It seems to me that since Luna Lovegood is nowhere on the premises. I have no idea as to where she could be, but it seems her father doesn't know either. I told him we have her and we will harm her if he does not report any visits from the Golden Trio and the like, then we will find that Luna can be easily harmed."

Among the loud shrieks of villainous laughter and the whooshing of people leaving, Draco could only hope that the end would indeed be soon.


	27. 27: Delumination

Snape was definitely going to kill him, Draco realized as he vaporized in front of the house where the real sword of Godric Gryffindor was hidden. But it was time. Just a few moments ago he'd received the signal from Ron Weasley and had quickly written him back to be ready by mid-afternoon.

Since he wasn't carefully following a patronus doe this time, he actually had the chance to look around the house. How on earth had Snape managed to get access to it in the first place? He walked around and noticed a few extremely dusty books, as if they were several decades old.

On the floor, Draco noticed some picture frames. He bent down and picked one up. It was a young girl, about ten, with dark brown hair and an arrogant smirk on her face. The same girl appeared in a couple of the other pictures with who Draco assumed were her parents, but it seemed that a person was cut out of the family picture. Finally, after some rummaging through the mess, he found a family picture that had fallen behind an armchair, and this time the fourth person was not cut out. It was a redheaded girl who looked younger than her sister, Draco presumed. But something caught his attention.

Her eyes. He'd recognize those eyes anywhere.

This must have been the childhood home of Lily Potter.

Did Snape know her as a child? Were they perhaps friends? Maybe they attended Hogwarts together. Was her death the reason for Snape's turn to Dumbledore? Or had they been long separated by opposing houses and goals? Even now it was hard for a Slytherin and a Gryffindor to be friends so it must have been worse back then.

But for Snape to use Lily Potter's childhood home as a secret storage area for one of the most power relics in the world, there had to have been some connection even later.

Draco shook the thoughts out of his head as he put the photo back down. Now wasn't the time. He'd promised to meet Weasley soon.

He rushed to the floorboard where he'd hidden the sword after Snape replicated it and undid the protective enchantments. He had been careful to hide Merlin's wand in the wand protector Hermione had gifted him two years ago so that it wouldn't react to the sword's magic, using Yaxley's wand instead. He reached in with his hand and grabbed the sword by the hilt, pulling it out. Quickly, he redid the charms and vaporized back into his room.

Where Snape was waiting for him.

Draco jumped in surprise and dropped the sword, yet completely relieved that it was Snape of all people.

"I had been hoping to delegate a task to you," Snape drawled, "but it seems you have already gone through with it."

Draco frowned. "Gone through with it?"

"I need you to help me locate Potter. It is time for him to have the sword."

"That was exactly my intention.." How was it that he and Snape were on the same page by accident?

Snape's expression matched Draco. "And how is it you came by this idea?"

Draco sighed. "The Snatchers got Ron Weasley some time ago and I helped him escape. He told me he needs the sword and today I've got word from him that he's healed, which is another story."

"Very peculiar that our interests have aligned on the same day, but I shall not question it. I presume you know how to find Potter?"

He had no idea. "Of course, sir."

Once Snape left, Draco ensured he had everything he needed and vaporized to Shell Cottage. He appeared on a beach, waves crashing at his feet. He looked around and saw a modest home overlooking the sea. Drying his feet and robe, he made his way to the door and knocked.

No answer. He raised his hand to knock again just as the door swung open, revealing a tall man with long red hair. A man whose wedding party Draco had crashed not too long ago.

"Draco Malfoy," stated Bill Weasley.

"Look, I realize I might not be welcome here. I don't know what Weas—er, _Ron_ has told you, but—"

"As in the same Draco Malfoy that interrupted _my_ wedding party at _my_ residence and interrogated and frightened _my_ guests?"

"Erm, I suppose that's factually accurate."

To Draco's surprise, Bill broke into a grin. "Well, don't just stand there. Come on in!"

Draco took a hesitant step inside before following through. When Bill shut the door, a familiar face peeked into the room.

"Fleur!" Draco greeted.

"Draco, mon amie!" Fleur approached him and they kissed cheeks. "Oh, I knew you were good ze whole time! You are a Malfoy, of course, and deep down you are always on ze right side."

"Thanks, Fleur. I'm assuming Wea—Ron has filled you in?" It would certainly take a while to get used to calling Ron Weasley by his first name.

Bill nodded. "He's in his room. He can't wait to find Harry and Hermione again."

"Excellent."

"Anything for ze road?" Fleur asked.

"No, you've done enough by welcoming me into your home."

"Don't worry about it," Bill assured him.

Draco nodded and went into the guest room where Weasel had been staying, but it was empty. He glanced around and suddenly the lights clicked off. As soon as he turned around, Weasel came around from behind the door, wand at Draco's throat. Within a split second, Draco had his wand at Weasel's.

"You may have freed me, Malfoy, but I haven't let my guard down."

"Nice to see your arm's fine," Draco said. "What did you think was going to happen? I only let you go so you could take me to more Order members? Or better—Harry Potter himself?" Actually, that wouldn't have been a bad guess.

"Why should I trust you?" Weasley demanded.

Draco rolled his eyes. "You've trusted me this far. I mean, I'm inside Shell Cottage. Also, remember how I know details about the Horcrux hunt, which Voldemort never would have told me?"

"Well, I realized you could've been lying to Dumbledore this whole time. Just like Snape."

"If I'm not on your side, then would I bring you this?"

Draco removed the sword of Gryffindor from the sheath under his robes.

Weasley simply gaped. "How did you get that?"

"I've had it. Come on, we don't really have time for all this mistrust stuff."

"It's a bloody war, Malfoy!"

"Bill and Fleur believe me."

"Only because I told them to."

"And why would you tell them that?" Draco prompted. "Instead of telling them to put up a million protective enchantments? Perhaps it's because deep down you know I'm telling the truth."

Weasley lowered his wand. "Look, even if you were trying to find Harry, I've got no idea where he and Hermione are. They're always on the move." He clicked some button on a weird blue gadget and the lights came back on.

Draco frowned. "What's that?"

"Deluminator. Dumbledore's invention. Turns lights on and off whenever and wherever I want, but pretty useless for any other situation."

"How did you get it?"

Weasley moved to the window and opened the shades. "Dumbledore's will. The Minister of Magic, er, the one that died that no one remembers the name of—"

"Scrimgeour?"

"I suppose," Weasley said, clicking the lights off. He showed up with the will and said Dumbledore left me this. But I dunno why."

"Well, it's got to be used for something else, hasn't it? Did he leave anything to anyone else?"

"Hermione got _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ and Harry got the first snitch he ever caught and that sword right there. Or he was supposed to, anyway, but seems like you've had it this whole time."

Noticing Draco's furrowed brows, Weasley said, "Malfoy?"

"Shh, I need to think." He sat down on a chair by the window. Why would Dumbledore leave anything to anyone just without reason? He wasn't one for useless tasks. Hermione had gotten a children's storybook she'd probably already read. But not just any storybook. This one told the origin story of the Deathly Hallows, which Draco hadn't discussed with anyone apart from Dumbledore. Maybe Dumbledore wanted her to find out about them?

Then Potter got a bloody snitch. When had he ever caught a snitch anyway? What good could a snitch be?

"Snitches have flesh memories."

Draco snapped his head to look at Weasley. "That they do. How did you know that's what I was thinking about?"

"Well, I couldn't figure out why Dumbledore would want Hermione to have the book or me to have this weird thing, so I thought about what I did know."

"So when Potter received the Snitch, did it open?"

"It didn't really open, but some words appeared on the side. It said, 'I open at the close.'"

Draco just gave him a weird look.

"I'm just telling you what I know!"

"Alright, alright, I'm just trying to figure out what on earth your thing is good for."

Draco looked out the window, hoping the answer would just come to him.

"Draco..." came a whisper.

"What?" he turned around to a confused Weasel.

"What? I didn't say anything."

"Draco..." The voice was coming from Weasley's Deluminator.

"Do you hear that?" Draco asked him.

"Hear what?"

"It's my name. It's coming from that!" He pointed to the Deluminator.

Weasley looked even more confused. "Why can't I hear it? Usually I can hear snippets of conversation if Harry or Hermione says my name."

Draco gaped. "And you simply forgot to mention this until now?"

Weasley shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose."

Suddenly, a ball of light emerged from the object.

"Do you _see_ this?" Draco asked Weasley, not taking his eyes off the light.

"Uh, yeah, this I can see."

The light came closer and closer and entered Draco's chest. He gave Weasley a bewildered look.

Then all of a sudden he knew. "I know where to go. I know where they are."


	28. 28: Reunited

Draco vaporized himself and Weasley to the Forest of Dean, landing by a frozen pond in the middle of the woods.

"Bloody hell!" Weasley exclaimed. "What just happened?"

"We vaporized," Draco told him as he took in their surroundings.

"How? Is that one of your Death Eater powers?"

Draco rolled his eyes and turned to the confused redhead. "Yes, it is. And if you have a problem with that, I can take you right on back and tie you up like in second year."

Weasley paused to remember before glaring at Draco. "Yeah, I never did get you back for that."

Ignoring him, Draco took the sword out from his sheath. "Look, I need you to give this to Potter and Her—Granger." He glanced at Weasley as he corrected his mistake, but it seemed the third member of the Golden Trio hadn't noticed.

"How? You want me to just waltz in with the sword? Hermione's gonna kill me!"

If only.

"I don't care how you do it," said Draco. "But you absolutely cannot mention me. As much as I hate to be uncredited, you need to make it seem like you escaped on your own. The Dark Lord's mind might still be connected to Potter's, so if he has any knowledge of me, it's dangerous to the both of us."

"Bloody likely he'd believe me," Weasley muttered. "Alright, give me the sword."

Draco handed the sword to Weasley, but as he grabbed the hilt from Draco, he tripped sideways and the sword flew out of his hand and onto the pond.

"Nice one, Weasel," Draco commented as he reluctantly helped the boy to his feet. "I know there's not much going on in that brain of yours, but if you want to stand a chance against the Dark Lord you really need to step it up."

When Weasley didn't respond, Draco turned to see what he was looking at. The sword was no longer resting on the ice, which had cracked and spread apart, presumably from contact with the sword.

"I don't even want to know how the sword could've landed so perfectly for that to happen," Draco said.

"Accio sword," Ron tried.

"It's the sword of Godric bloody Gryffindor, it doesn't work like that. We have to try something else."

"What do you mean? We've got to like...go in and get it?"

Draco nodded. "Seeing as I'm the one who brought you here, it's your turn to do something risky."

"No way, mate, it's bloody winter. I'll literally freeze,"

Raising an eyebrow, Draco told him, "Alright, then, I see one option."

Raising Yaxley's wand, he spoke, "Expecto patronum!"

The familiar white wolf burst from the wand and walked out of the forest away from the two boys.

"What are you doing?" Weasley asked.

"If you won't jump in and I certainly won't jump in, then I can think of one person who would."

"You're barking."

"I'm a wolf, not a dog." Before Weasel could retort, Draco commanded, "Stand here behind this tree. You don't want him to see you until after he's got the sword for obvious reasons."

"And what about you?"

"I'm done here." With that, Draco vaporized only ten feet away. From a distance, he saw Potter following the wolf to the pond. Draco made his way out of the forest and towards a tent in the middle of the green.

He carefully looked around before entering the tent. Hermione was sitting in front of a cauldron, stirring its contents while flipping through a book.

"I'm surprised there's no protective charms around," Draco commented.

Hermione gasped, looking up and nearly tipping over the cauldron. She gaped for a moment before quickly rising to her feet and rushing over to engulf him in a hug. "Draco!"

Draco allowed himself to enjoy the embrace, having not talked to her since the day of Dumbledore's death, or even seen her since Bill and Fleur's wedding.

"I'm glad to see you're safe," Draco told her.

"That _I'm_ safe? Draco, what on earth have you been up to? Falsely killing your parents?"

Draco was taken aback for a moment before he remembered his foolish mistake from a while ago. Figuring it would take a substantial amount of time for Potter and Weasley to retrieve the sword and destroy the Horcrux, he briefly explained what he had been up to since Dumbledore's death, omitting the part about visiting the Lovegoods and pretty much anything that had to do with the Hallows, which he'd never told Hermione about. He didn't want to overwhelm her with information, and she needed to focus on finding Horcruxes while Draco kept Voldemort distracted.

"Are you becoming his right hand?" Hermione asked, a hint of worry lacing her voice.

Draco shook his head. "No way, I mean he still barely trusts me, especially after the killing the parents stunt. However, he does think I'm capable of carrying out his tasks and knows I won't ask any questions. At the very least he doesn't suspect me of being the traitor that he's been looking for. But enough about me. What have you three, er, two been up to?"

"Well, we've been on the run ever since you crashed the wedding—wait. How did you know there's only two of us now?"

Draco wasn't planning to tell Hermione that he'd helped Weasley escape, wanting it to be kind of a surprise for her. "Oh, erm, I may or may not have found him when the Snatchers dragged him into Malfoy Manor."

"Oh, Ronald," Hermione shook her head.

"He wanted to come back as soon as he left. At any rate, we're on pretty okay terms right now."

"I'm sure that'll change when he eventually finds out about you and me." They both chuckled. "But he'll come around," Hermione continued. She quickly explained all that the Trio had dealt with and why Weasley had left.

"Yeah, when I found him," Draco added on, "I told him to wait until his arm got better before owling me about finding you and Potter."

"Thanks for helping him, Draco," Hermione said. "How did you find us anyway?"

Draco explained about the Deluminator.

"You heard my voice say your name?" Hermione asked incredulously. "That's a bit weird. Then again, so was Dumbledore."

"Honestly if it weren't for you, I might have just let him rot in the dungeons," he joked, eliciting an eye roll. "Speaking of rot, I heard about your encounter with fake Bathilda Bagshot."

"I knew it was a trap," Hermione told him. "I knew it, but Harry made a good point—"

"I'm sorry," Draco said. "It's my fault. I was the one who told the Dark Lord that you might visit Godric's Hollow."

Hermione looked shocked. "Draco, how could you? He nearly got us!"

"I didn't think you'd let Potter go! You have no idea how relieved I was to hear that his plan against Potter failed."

"We had to go, Draco. Harry had to go."

Draco sighed. "I know. Anyway, he and Weasley will probably be back soon, but there's something extremely important you should know before I go."

"What is it?"

"You have an uncle."

Hermione just gaped at him. "No, I can't possibly."

"Yes, you do, and I've met him. Your mother had a younger brother who ran away from home and was presumed missing. He married a Muggle and had two kids. Not too long ago, You-Know-Who killed your aunt and asked me to kill the children, but I took them to live with my parents."

Hermione was speechless. A tear ran down her cheek as she realized her aunt had died before she got to meet her.

"I found your uncle Stanley living in your house, but your parents weren't there."

"That's because I wiped their identities from their memories and sent them to live in Australia while the war goes on. And I've been working on a cure ever since. But I've got no way to test if it works. Anyway, how is my uncle doing? He must have been devastated to hear about his wife."

"He was, but I assured him his kids were okay and that he would eventually be reunited with them."

Hermione stared at the ground. "I have an uncle. And cousins. How old are they? What are their names?"

"William is ten and Jane is five, I believe."

Once again, Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco in a tight embrace. "Thank you. Next time you see your parents, give them my utmost gratitude." She pulled away when she remembered something. "Oh, before you go, I need to show you something." She looked around and grabbed an old book. Quickly flipping to a bookmarked page, she pointed a symbol to him. Draco recognized it immediately as the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, all three of which were currently on his person.

"Do you know what that is?" Hermione asked him. "It's not a rune, but apparently Harry's seen Xenophilius Lovegood wearing the symbol."

Draco pretended to think for a moment before saying, "No, I haven't ever seen it before." For once, he actually felt really bad about lying. "Are you going to visit the Lovegoods and ask?" He really shouldn't have been encouraging such an action that would endanger Hermione and her friends.

"Only if it's safe. Is it?"

Should he warn her? He had enough faith that Herimone could get the trio out without getting caught, but it would be too obvious if they were expecting the Death Eaters to show up. He had to trust her abilities.

"As far as I know," Draco told her. "No one has even said anything about Xenophilius Lovegood, so you should be okay." As soon as he said it, he wanted to tell her the truth, but he couldn't bring himself to. He would tell her later that this was the only way to get Voldemort to take his eye off Xenophilius Lovegood and get Luna back home.

He peeked outside and saw no one, but he could hear the boys approaching through the woods.

"I have to go," he said to Hermione.

"Wait, Draco, is there any way you could get me a wand? Well, it's not for me, but Harry's wand broke at Godric's Hollow and he has mine right now."

"I don't think—" he stopped, remembering that he did have one. He reached into his robe and pulled it out, handing it to Hermione. "It's Yaxley's. He was killed right after failing to capture you three. Though, you might not want to tell Potter."

Hermione smiled. "We'll see each other soon, alright? This will all be over soon. Actually, I almost forgot!" She reached in her pocket and pulled out the fake Sickle. "You must have dropped this the night Dumbledore died."

Draco took the Sickle from her. "I'll finally get to talk to you again. It's been more than half a year." He locked eyes with her before kissing her for the first time in forever.

"Good luck, Mione, and stay safe please."

Hermione chuckled. "As if you could do the same."

He grinned at her before stepping outside to vaporize away.

 **A/N: This chapter took forever to write, but here it is!**


	29. 29: Snatching

It was nearing the end of March when Draco once again awoke to the sound of noise in his own house. He quickly got ready and made his way downstairs to find Snatchers pouring into the drawing room, along with a few other Death Eaters.

"Great," Draco remarked to Snape. "What is it this time?"

"If it is any consolation, I have not been told either."

Draco tried to listen in on the chatter, but could barely make out any snippets of information that seemed relevant. In a split second, a black wisp flew into the room and materialized into their leader.

"It seems we are in need of a hunt," Voldemort began. "There is news of an illegal band of mudbloods and goblins on the run. Additionally, Severus has informed me that one Neville Longbottom has been leading a rebllion against the Carrows at Hogwarts, a rebellion that took part in a Support Harry Potter Party hosted by our favorite gamekeeper."

Draco really hoped he wouldn't be asked to deal with any of the the people the Dark Lord had just mentioned.

Looking to Theo's father, Voldemort said, "Nott, I require that you immediately inform the Minister to assign one of his Auror's to capture, not kill, Augusta Longbottom. She is of pure blood, but her capture will allow us to control her grandson."

Nott Sr. nodded and vaporized away.

"Severus," said Voldemort as he turned to the headmaster, "please take these three" gesturing to the remaining Death Eaters "to Hogwarts so that they may arrest Hagrid."

Arrest Hagrid? For throwing a party?

"Yes, my Lord," Snape bowed his head and motioned for the others to follow him.

Once they had gone, Voldemort turned to Draco and the Snatchers. "Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell, and Dean Thomas—three mudbloods that are currently on the run with goblins Gornuk and Griphook."

Ted Tonks was on the run? He must have gone some time after Theo and Pansy stopped writing to Draco. And Dean Thomas was in his year. Draco needed to make sure they were okay. But Griphook was most important. Draco knew he was being selfish, but he didn't trust Griphook to keep his mouth shut about his encounter with Draco and the fake sword.

"They were last located ten minutes ago in Cardiff Bay by the Taboo Curse," Voldemort finished. "I have mended the curse so that you will all be aware when someone speaks my name so that I do not have to tell you every time. Find these criminals and whoever else dares to speak the feared name of Lord Voldemort. Draco, I expect you to return as soon as possible as I require your assistance with a certain wizard in Nurmengard."

"Yes, my Lord," Draco told him as he vanished away. Draco knew instantly that the Dark Lord must have somehow located Grindelwald, which was the last thing Draco needed. He also had to wonder, if the Dark Lord needed his assistance, why was he being sent to lead a bunch of Snatchers? Unfortunately, he was in the dark about everything, and regarding Grindelwald, could only hope that the older wizard would take to his grave the name of the wizard who'd once defeated him. But now he had to focus on the task at hand.

"Everyone to Cardiff Bay!" he commanded, whisking away to Wales. It quickly became clear that Draco had been sent on this mission because Voldemort needed Draco's magic, or at least his brain, to help the Snatchers find the group in the huge bay.

"They must be on one of these boats," Scabior told his crew. "Fan out and find them!"

"Not so fast!" Draco halted them. "It'll take us forever, and by then the people we're looking for will have gone." Either he could pretend to try very hard and not find anyone, or find the group and intentionally fail to capture them. He quickly decided that the first option would rouse suspicion and the second would ensure that the group left the bay. They'd probably be found either way with Draco's spectacular luck.

He stepped away from the group and waved his wand, revealing the heat signatures in each boat.

"That one down there," he signaled to the boat at the start of the docks. "My wand tells me there are five beings in that one."

He followed the Snatchers, led by Scabior, as they stealthily crept up to the boat, wands at the ready. They slowly boarded, careful not to make a sound. As much as Draco wanted to, he knew he couldn't intentionally mess up the mission—the Dark Lord knew he was too smart for mistakes. He really hoped it was the wrong boat.

Scabior had now entered the captain's cabin and motioned for his men to get ready behind him as they descended the stairs. With all the Snatchers focused, Draco realized it might be the perfect time to magically shake the boat hard enough to catch them off guard and warn the "illegals" to leave.

Suddenly, Scabior motioned with his wand and in an instant, all the Snatchers vaporized right into the room below. Draco quickly followed, but it was too late—Dirk Cresswell and Gornuk lay dead on the ground, the other three captured.

As he entered the room, he locked eyes with an angry Dean Thomas, a disappointed Ted Tonks, and a scared Griphook.

"Why did you kill them?" Draco demanded. "They're supposed to go to the Ministry to stand trial for their crimes."

"Since when do you follow the law?" one of the new recruits said, clearly trying to be impressive to his peers.

"Since the Dark Lord was the one who started making those laws," Draco shot back, giving him a murderous look that shut him up. "You know very well we're supposed to find out everything they've done and everything they know."

Scabior stepped forward, smirking. "If these two poor souls 'adn't tri' tuh be mean and just worked with us a bit, per'aps there'd be a thing or two ta tell!" He cackled nastily. "Relax, little Malfoy. What those two knew, ah bet these three do too."

"Very well, then," Draco accepted. "I don't really care for the goblin." As soon as Draco said it, he mentally chastised himself. He shouldn't have selfishly risked Griphook's life to keep his secret safe.

"Goblins can do a lot these days," Scabior pointed out. "I say we keep 'im, and even if he's got nuffing, I do love to 'ear one of 'em squeal."

For once, Draco was thankful that the leader of the Snatchers was completely mental. Without knowing it, Scabior had just undone Draco's error.

"I think we should start with this one," Draco said, moving to Dean Thomas. "Gryffindor in my year, good mates with Potter. If anyone should know something, him."

"I don't know a thing," said Dean, "and if I did, I wouldn't be sharing it with the likes of you!" He tried to kick Draco in the shin, but Slytherin saw it coming and halted him with his wand.

"Let's try this again," Draco inched closer, hoping his plan would work. "Answer me, or the old man gets a taste of the most fun Unforgivable."

Fortunately, the Gryffindor wasn't backing down. "Try me." Draco clenched his jaw in false hatred and pointed his wand at Ted Tonks without turning. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted that the Snatcher had shifted his focus to Ted. Concentrating his wandless energy on Dean, Draco Imperiused the boy to backflip over the unfocused Snatcher and steal his wand back.

Once free of both the Snatcher and the mind control, Dean stunned the Snatcher holding Ted, but in a quick flash, his own Snatcher shot Ted with the familiar green light. Although he was in shock, Dean disapparated immediately from the boat.

Draco didn't say a word. It took one death to enable one escape. How was that better than if they were both still held captive?

"Great, you fools, look what you've done," he told the Snatchers. "One escaped and another dead."

But before he could give them further instructions, Scabior's wand shot up and displayed three words: Xenophilius Lovegood, Home.

"Looks like we've got a new one, eh boys?" he snickered.

Turning to the Snatcher who held Griphook, Draco said, "Take him back to the dungeons and then you're free to leave. The rest of you, to the Lovegood residence."

Things were about to get a lot worse.

 **A/N: Finally, another update. I'll be updating another chapter this weekend for sure because I'm eager to write it.**


	30. 30: Scabior Succeeds

Draco, Scabior, and the remaining Snatchers arrived at the home of Xenophilius and Luna Lovegood, quickly circling the building.

"No funny business this time," Scabior declared. "Doesn't matter what 'e's got—if it ain't Potter, 'e's dead!"

As Draco trailed behind the Snatchers entering the home, he hoped that Hermione would get away in time. He unconsciously played with the fake Sickle in his pocket, unable to use it to warn her. His only consolation was that last year he'd risked Luna's life to save Hermione's, and now he was doing the opposite. It wasn't much of a consolation, but when Hermione undoubtedly asked for an explanation, Draco could give her something she would accept, even if he really couldn't.

"He's here, I swear! He's upstairs!"

Draco was jolted from his thoughts by Luna's father. Taking the cue, Draco made his way to the front of the group.

"Then why don't you sit down, make yourself comfortable, while we go get him?"

There was a thud, causing everyone to look up.

Scabior turned to his crew and put a finger to his lips. Pointing to two Snatchers, he motioned for them to follow him upstairs. The others remained to guard Xenophilius. Draco glanced around the room before climbing the stairs.

When they got to the top, they found an empty loft extending into three rooms. Scabior beckoned the group into one of the rooms. Draco stayed where he was, only turning his head to look behind him...

...and lock eyes with Hermione. She glared at him as Potter and Weasley appeared behind her. Weasley looked surprised and Potter looked like he didn't know what to do or think.

Remaining expressionless, Draco looked at Hermione one last time before sending her an apology via the fake Sickle. He turned back around, cueing her to stun one of the Snatchers from behind. As he dropped, the rest of the group turned around just in time to catch the three Gryffindors apparating away.

Scabior let out a roar and shoved through the group. He clambered down the stairs. Draco followed swiftly, crossing his fingers that Scabior wouldn't try to kill Xenophilius.

"Looks like ya weren't lyin' at least," the lead Snatcher said as he walked up to the homeowner. Threateningly stroking his wand, he continued, "Of course, Potter won't be returning anytime soon so I suppose there really ain't no use for ya."

"Just a moment, Scabior," said Draco, taking out his wand. "We don't know how much this one could know. Potter could've told him anything. Plus, your foolishness already lost us four informants earlier today."

" _My_ foolishness?"

"All of yours! Now let's take this man back to the manor and we'll go from there." Draco stayed behind to make sure everyone left before he did. When he appeared back in his home, he watched Scabior lock up Xenophilius next to Griphook.

"The keys," Draco demanded as the Snatchers were leaving the dungeon.

"Not so fast," came Scabior's response. "Just 'cause it's your 'ouse don't mean you get to do whatever you want."

Instantly, Draco's wand was at the Death Eater's throat. "Actually, that's exactly what that means. So hand it over."

Before Scabior could obey, the Snatchers in charge of Griphook appeared from upstairs.

"Any news?" asked Draco as they all walked to the drawing room.

"Looks like Mrs. Longbottom sent the Auror Dawlish to St. Mungos's!" They all snickered as Draco raised an eyebrow.

"You do realize he's cost us greatly?" Despite his words, Draco was glad of the result. Not only was it funny, but a certain Gryffindor was now free to run about Hogwarts, rebelling with his toad.

"Cheer up, Malfoy, have a laugh!"

"There's nothing to be laughing about," a familiar voice drawled. Draco turned to find Snape walking to the front of the room. The headmaster continued, "Hagrid just barely escaped us. Now it seems both he and Mrs. Longbottom are on the run."

"Excellent," Draco said sarcastically. "What a successful day it's been. We've got two captives who are probably too frightened to say a word and everyone else either died or escaped." He needed to buy time to deal with said captives so he added, "I must go find the Dark Lord now. He requires my service. We'll reconvene tomorrow to deal with the prisoners."

As he left, he heard Snape tell Scabior, "Give me the keys. I'll put Wormtail on dungeon duty." Draco sighed in relief because that would definitely help things. Making his way up the stairs, he checked the fake Sickle, but there was no response. He hoped Hermione would give him a chance to explain.

Turning his attention to the issue at hand, he tried to recall where Voldemort said he was going. Nurmengard, he remembered. The old prison on an island in the midst of a stormy sea. Just as he was reaching his room, he fell to the floor, images of a dark building flooding his mind. An old man sat in the corner, Voldemort towering over him.

"Where is it?" the Dark Lord demanded. "Where is the wand?"

Grindelwald merely laughed. "Why, where else? It lies, of course, with him."

"I have no time for your games. Who won the wand from you?"

Laughter echoed through the barren cells of the prison Grindelwald had built to hold his opponents. "And you call yourself the greatest dark wizard to ever live? My dear boy, you are nothing compared to what I was. It seems that in the end, our common enemy got the best of us."

There was a quick flash as Voldemort realized that Grindelwald meant the wand was resting with Dumbledore. But despite the initial shock, he quickly recovered and exited the prison with his signature move.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Draco burst out of the vision feeling tired and uneasy. He really needed to ask Snape why the Death Eaters had this weird side effect, or if it was a power granted by accident to the Death Eaters of the first war that passed on to their children. He crawled into his room and flopped onto his bed, unaware that his services would soon be required.

Just then, as Scabior was ready to leave the Manor, he received yet another message on his wand. It was a rather odd one, for it told him the taboo curse had just been broken by one Corban Yaxley. A very dead Corabn Yaxley. Although Scabior was more known for his ability to fight than his ability think, it didn't take a genius to figure out that whoever had Yaxley's wand was very likely a traitor.

He quickly assembled his Snatchers, and they were on their way. They vaporized instantly to their destination. As Scabior landed in the forest, he grinned—it seemed it was a successful day after all.

"Evans, Ross, go find Bellatrix," he ordered as the Golden Trio locked eyes with the Snatchers. "We'll be needin' 'er expertise."

In a split second, Evans and Ross vaporized away as the Golden Trio took off, the Snatchers on their tails.

Evans and Ross appeared in the Lestrange home, startling the witch they were looking for, who turned them into toads before realizing who they were.

"We're under orders from Scabior to escort you to Malfoy Manor," said Evans.

"For what?" Bellatrix demanded.

The two Snatchers exchanged glances. Ross stepped forward and answered, "He's found Potter."

That turned Bellatrix's confused frown into a nasty grin. "Then by all means!" she exclaimed, cackling.

The three appeared inside the gates of Malfoy Manor, where they waited until the Snatchers appeared.

"Three wanted fugitives, at your service," mocked Scabior.

"Let me see," said Bellatrix. She shone her light as Scabior shoved a boy's face to the gate. The scar she'd seen in all the papers was barely visible. But there was a reason they were at the manor.

Without moving an inch, she said to Evans and Ross, "Get Draco."

Cackling once more, she swung the gates open. "Welcome to Malfoy Manor, Harry Potter!"


	31. 31: Skirmish at Malfoy Manor

"Malfoy, get up!"

Draco's eyes shot open to see the Snatchers Evans and Ross standing in front of him.

"What do you think you're doing in my room?" Draco demanded.

"We got Potter!" Evans exclaimed.

Draco sat up straight. "You _what_?"

Ross nodded excitedly. "Got Potter and there's these two others with him."

"But we ain't sure it's him," Evans added, "so we need you."

 _Bloody fantastic,_ Draco thought, getting out of bed. "Very well, let's go." He followed Evans and Ross down the stairs and into the room just above the dungeon. They met with the other Snatchers, save for Scabior, who followed Bellatrix from the dungeon, dragging...was it Potter?

The leader threw Potter in front of Draco. Turning to Bellatrix, Scabior handed her three wands.

"This one," he said, waving a very familiar wand, "belonged to Yaxley."

"Did it now?" Bellatrix cackled as she turned to Potter.

"An' we took it from the ugly one 'ere."

"Yeah, what happened to his face?" Draco asked.

"We shall find out," Bellatrix replied, taking the three wands in one wand. "Priori Incantatem!" She smirked as she saw Hermione's wand had last used a Stinging Jinx. "Go on, Draco," she nudged. "We've got to be absolutely sure it's him before I call the Dark Lord."

"Before _you_ call the Dark Lord?" Scabior stepped in. "An' who was it that caught the boy and his friends?"

"And who was it that required _our_ assistance?" she shot back. "Never mind him, Draco. Tell us—is this Harry Potter or not?"

It was, without a doubt, Harry Potter. But Draco knew he couldn't give away The Boy Whose Life Draco Always Saved. He knelt down to match Potter's eye level. Just barely, Draco could see the infamous scar.

"I can't be sure," Draco told Bellatrix. He could tell the Stinging Jinx was slowly fading. Potter needed to get back to the dungeons, and Draco needed enough time to plan an escape. What could possibly serve as a distraction.

Thankfully, Scabior unknowingly came to the rescue. "Don't be brushin' me off that quick," he said to Bellatrix. "These kids ain't all we found."

With that, he pulled the sword of Gryffindor from Hermione's bag.

Bellatrix gasped.

 _Oh, great,_ Draco thought. He'd completely forgotten about that incriminating piece of evidence.

"Where did you get that?!" his aunt demanded, using her wand to choke Scabior with the pink scarf he was wearing. A rather peculiar decoration for a man of his type, Draco reckoned, but people could dress however they liked.

"Aunt Bella," Draco intervened, "release him or he can't explain himself.

After a few more seconds, she complied.

"Where did I get it?" Scabior repeated, gasping for air. "I just pulled it ou' o' this bloody handbag! Belongs to the girl—said 'er name was Penelope Clearwa'er, but I seen 'er in the Prophet. She's the Granger girl, daughter o' the squibs."

Bellatrix grabbed the sword and bag from Scabior, throwing the latter on the ground. "Then take this one," she nudged Potter with the hilt of the sword "and bring me back the girl!"

Glaring and muttering under his breath, Scabior stepped around her to pull up Potter and drag him to the dungeon. Just then, Wormtail entered the room, escorted by a couple Snatchers.

"And where've you been?" Evans questioned. "We've been stuck guarding the dungeon in your stead."

At that moment, Scabior emerged from the dungeon with Hermione. Draco instantly looked away, turning to face Wormtail.

"Ah, look o's 'ere!" Scabior exclaimed upon seeing the rat. "Do us all a favor and go lock up our 'eroes so we won't 'ave to guard 'em no more."

As Wormtail started forward, Draco found himself stopping the former Gryffindor.

"There's no need," he told Pettigrew. "You can go stand guard since we're keeping the Snatchers from their jobs, but locking them up is a bit redundant since we're all standing right here, armed, and they can't apparate out of the dungeon, so we'll know if they try to leave." He stepped out of Wormtail's way, still avoiding eye contact with Hermione.

"All that's settled then?" Bellatrix mockingly asked Scabior. "And we can get on with the interrogation?" She grabbed Hermione's arm and flung her away. Draco turned to see her body hit the ground hard.

 _Stay calm,_ he told himself. He'd figure out how to stop this soon.

Bellatrix stuck her wand at Hermione's throat. "Answer me quickly, and I'll spare you the pain." She smiled with false mercy. "Where did you get that sword?"

Hermione didn't answer, glaring into the older witch's eyes.

"I won't ask again. Cru—!"

"Wait, stop!" Draco rushed forward. He didn't dare look down. Thinking on his feet, he continued, "I know her, Aunt Bella, she's easily brainwashed if done correctly. Why should we harm a pureblood and risk alienating her when we can convince her to work for us?" He had no idea where he was going with this, but he refused to let his aunt torture Hermione.

Bellatrix looked disappointed for a moment but went right back to cackling, as if keeping Hermione in suspense were much more fun. "Alright, since my nephew requested, I'll give you one more chance. Where did you get the sword? Did you steal it?"

"We didn't steal anything!" Hermione insisted.

"Is that so? Then how is it in your possession when it should be in my vault?" With every word, Bellatrix seemed to grow angrier.

"We didn't steal it, we found it!"

"Liar!" Belatrix slapped Hermione. Draco wanted to help her badly but he didn't know how. "You stole this from _my_ vault! What else did you take? What else did you take?"

He wondered why his aunt seemed so panicked about what else the trio stole when he remembered that on his last visit to her vault, he'd found a golden cup that he believed was another Horcrux.

"It's not real! It's not real!" Hermione protested. "The sword is fake!"

"Fake?" Bellatrix repeated. "You dare question me? You dare question the Dark Lord?" She pulled out a knife from a waist pocket on her jacket and stuck her wand between her teeth. The witch slammed Hermione's left arm to the ground, holding it there. To Draco's horror, she began carving into Hermione's arm, eliciting a scream of pain from the girl.

"What are you doing?!" Draco demanded, causing Bellatrix to stop. He didn't couldn't bring himself to look at Hermione.

"You're spoiling it! Let me finish my word."

"Your word?"

Bellatrix grinned nastily. "Just a little reminder that she'll never be any more than a Mudblood."

"Her parents are squibs, not Muggles!" Draco told her. He wanted to add "not that it matters" but decided he'd save that conversation for a later date. "She still belongs to two pureblood families—the Lysons and the Grangers. Though they parents have been out of contact with their families for quite some time, I'm sure not one witch or wizard in the family will be pleased to hear what you've done with the girl, and the Dark Lord won't be happy that you've tipped the neutral families to the other side."

Draco realized he'd just spoken a lot of codswallop, having gone with whatever came to his mind, but he hoped it worked.

"Just like your mother," Bellatrix grumbled. "She never let me have any fun." Then out of nowhere, she pulled out her wand and sent Draco flying back, hitting slamming him hard against the wall. Turning back to Hermione, she said, "Now where were we?"

He had to take Bellatrix's attention off Hermione—he couldn't let her get hurt. He tried to get up, but everything was blurry. How hard had he been hit? He wanted to punish himself for not focusing more of his energy that year on practicing magic. There were very few people skilled enough to take Draco by surprise, and his aunt was one of them.

Hermione's screams brought him back to reality, his vision slowly coming into focus. His head throbbed like there would be no tomorrow. He felt something wet dripping down the back of his head. Reaching back, he placed his fingers on the liquid and brought it before his eyes.

Blood.

 _Just what I need,_ he thought. Healing was something Draco had never really tried to improve on, arrogantly assuming he wouldn't need to learn anything past the basics. He had to think fast and get Hermione out of there without collapsing from blood loss too early to help her escape. He reached for his wand so he could try to stop the blood flow, but it wasn't there.

Where was his wand? He groaned, realizing he must have left it in his robe pocket, which he forgot to put on before he rushed downstairs upon hearing Potter was captured.

Potter! He just remembered—if Hermione took Potter's place in the interrogation, who would take hers? Weasley couldn't be helpful, and neither could Xenophilius, so that left only Griphook, who would surely give Draco away.

But then he remembered Sirius's advice from the past summer: " _Do not hesitate to do what must be done, Draco. Even if you think the world is counting on you, remember that there are some difficult choices that must be made and to make them you must be calm."_

Draco took one quick breath to calm himself before using all his strength to pull himself up. He wobbled around for a bit before yelling "Stop!"

His aunt spun around and Hermione stopped screaming.

Draco hobbled forward. "Get the goblin." Risking his own life to save Hermione from pain, even for a little bit, was completely worth it. "He'll know about the sword."


	32. 32: Escape from Malfoy Manor

For a moment, Draco was worried his aunt wouldn't agree, but she stood up and called for Wormtail. Pettigrew stepped out from the little doorway in front of the dungeon.

"Do as Draco said," Bellatrix told him. Wormtail quickly rushed into the dungeon as Bellatrix motioned for Evans to deal with Hermione. The Snatcher stood her up before holding her hands behind her back.

As Wormtail brought Griphook out, Draco locked eyes with the goblin. He really hoped, for both their sakes, that Griphook would know better than to tell the truth in hopes of freedom. If he had his wand, at least he could have Imperiused the goblin.

Breaking contact with Griphook, Draco's eyes suddenly caught Hermione's. She looked broken and exhausted, staring back at Draco with a mix of emotions. He really wanted to let her know how sorry he was, but he kept his face expressionless.

He stumbled to the side, catching himself before anything could happen. Looking back at Hermione, he noticed she seemed to be concerned or taken aback. That was when he noticed the pool of blood dripping by his feet.

He turned and carefully made his way across the room to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bellatrix asked. "Can't handle a little blood?"

"I left my wand upstairs," Draco said, realizing it was probably the first time he'd ever told her the truth about something.

She cackled. "Poor boy. Don't worry, your dear aunt will teach you about wandless magic someday!"

Ignoring her, Draco made it out of the room and up the stairs as fast as he could without getting dizzy. He would have vaporized but he didn't think he had the energy. Finally, he entered his room and retrieved his wand.

"Episkey," he said, pointing it at the back of his head. It didn't seem to work—the damage must've been greater than he thought. What was that spell Snape said he had used after Potter hit Draco with Sectumsempra?

"Vulnera sanentur," he spoke as he recalled. The first time was for slowing the blood flow, but he needed to repeat it two more times before applying dittany, if he remembered correctly.

 _CRACK!_ Suddenly, Dobby appeared in Draco's bedroom.

"Dobby? What are you doing here?"

The house-elf grinned with excitement. "Dobby is happy to see Master Malfoy after so long! Dobby was sent here by Aberforth Dumbledore to help Harry Potter, but when Dobby realized it was the master's house, Dobby had to go to him first!"

"Quickly, go to the dungeons and get everyone out of there! Then come back for Hermione and Griphook."

"As you wish, sir!" Dobby exclaimed, disapparating .

Thank Merlin that house-elves could apparate wherever they wanted to and thank Salazar that Aberforth somehow knew to send one. Unfortunately, as he was distracted by Dobby, Draco rushed back downstairs without completing the healing process Snape had shown him the previous year.

When he entered the room, he noticed that no one had really changed positions. Griphook had a fresh cut on his cheek.

"You say this sword is not real?" Bellatrix exclaimed.

Draco let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He was safe—Griphook hadn't given him away. As he circled around the room to the door near the dungeon, he heard a crack and knew Dobby must have transported everyone by that time.

"Wormtail," he said to the idiotic guard, "I know you're not very bright, but when you hear a noise coming from somewhere it shouldn't be, you should really go see what it is."

Pettigrew scowled and opened the door, walking in. Draco noted the rat really wasn't smart because avoiding strange noises was a given when it came to staying alive.

There was a thump and the door opened very slowly. All the snatchers were too busy watching Bellatrix threaten Griphook so only Draco saw as Potter and Weasley peeked out from behind the stairs. He rolled his eyes and silently moved away from the door, trying not to draw any attention from either side of the war, just as he always had.

Bellatrix finally pushed Griphook aside, giving up on him. "Goblins are tricky, thieving little freaks, but this one's telling the truth. So looks like I'm going back to the one who seems most likely to have all the answers I want." She took her sweet time approaching Hermione, running her hands over her precious wand.

Draco quickly sneaked a glance at Potter and Weasley, noticing they both had wands out. But Scabior had their wands, so did they borrow these from Wormtail and Xenophilius? Regardless, Draco had to get their wands to them before they escaped.

"What will it be dear?" Bellatrix was taunting Hermione as Draco tried to get closer to Scabior. "The Cruciatus? Or would you prefer I that I finish off the beautifully carved word on your arm?"

Weasley took that moment to be completely stupid and charged forward with "Expelliarmus!" Bellatrix's wand shot out of her hand, rendering her speechless for just a second. As all the snatchers took out their wands to fight the two Gryffindors, Draco summoned his aunt's wand to him. Hermione wrestled out of Evans' clutch and ran after Scabior, no doubt for the trio's wands.

But before she could get too close to her captor, Draco summoned the wands to him and began shooting spells at Snatchers. He knew how to make it look like an accident, following the time Voldemort tried using Draco's wand and brought down the drawing room chandelier.

"Draco, your wand is broken!" Bellatrix shouted at him, trying to wandlessly fend off the Gryffindor boys. Suddenly, Dobby appeared beside Griphook, and Potter and Weasley found their way to the goblin and the house-elf. Hermione was about to reach them when Bellatrix grabbed her by the collar and pulled her back, putting a knife to Hermione's throat.

Of the Snatchers, Scabior, Ross, and Evans remained standing, each pointing his wand at the group. Bellatrix had dragged Hermione to the middle of the room.

"Stop, or the girl gets it!" she threatened. "Dobby, dear Dobby. If only I could remember how dearly you have to pay for your betrayal."

"No betrayal at all!" Dobby shot back. "Dobby serves those who care about him because he wants to! Because Dobby is a free elf!"

"Let's see how free you are when you have to choose between surrendering and leaving the Mudblood. You two," she nodded to the Gryffindor boys, "slowly put your wands down. No sudden movements or my hand just might slit her throat by mistake."

Potter and Weasley looked at each other, then at Hermione. As they began following Bellatrix's instructions, Bellatrix kept her eyes on them while speaking to Scabior.

"You wanted to call the Dark Lord," she said. "Then call him."

Scabior looked a little taken aback, but he pulled up his sleeve. At that moment, Draco locked eyes with a disheartened house-elf, one who was usually so eager and full of hope, and knew he had no other choice.

In a quick flash, Draco pointed his wand at the chandelier and yelled, "Reducto!" His voice warned Bellatrix to look up, and she let go of Hermione. Dobby used his magic to summon Hermione to her friends just before the chandelier crashed down. Bellatrix narrowly avoided the chandelier by jumping back. Potter and Weasley looked surprised but quickly took out Evans and Ross. Bellatrix looked furious, throwing her knife into the midst of the apparating group. Her lips slowly turned up when the knife disappeared.

During the short moment Bellatrix was distracted, Draco tried to disarm Scabior and summoned Hermione's handbag tfrom him, but the lead Snatcher was quick, catching the handle at the last moment. Draco shot him with spell after spell, holding onto the other handle, finally yanking the bag out of Scabior's hands. A small vial fell out of the bag, but before Draco could do anything, Bellatrix caught it.

Draco stepped back, summoning Scabior's disarmed wand to him so the Snatcher couldn't attack. Now both Scabior and Bellatrix were left defenseless, but Draco knew exactly what the vial was, and his head was starting to throb really hard.

"The Dark Lord won't be too pleased to hear this," Scabior taunted.

"I had such high hopes for you Draco," Bellatrix told him with mock disappointment. "Since our master restored my personality as much as possible, I've thought that you would make an excellent heir to the Lestrange name, and that you might be able to restore the Malfoy name." She looked down at the vial and read the label. "Cure for Obliviate." She cackled. "Well, that's what happened to me, isn't it?"

Draco could feel his wound start to bleed again as he watched Bellatrix down the contents of the potion. A jolt of energy flooded through the witch, and her eyes grew vicious.

"You."

She remembered. She remembered everything.

"The wolf that attacked me last year," she realized, "that was you. The same exact eyes...you killed Greyback!"

Just as Bellatrix was about to launch her raging wandless attack on him, Draco jumped for the sword and vaporized to his room. He quickly locked the door and placed an anti-apparition spell in his room. But even if his aunt and Scabior couldn't get in, they would no doubt call Voldemort.

As fast as he could with his injury, Draco packed everything he owned and Hermione's handbag into his Hogwarts trunk. He threw on his robe, slipping everyone's wands into the front pocket. Making sure he had all three of the hallows in the other pockets, he grabbed his trunk and sword with one hand and whistled for Duchess and Fawkes. The owl landed on his trunk hand, and with the other, Draco grasped at Fawkes's feathers. They all disappeared just seconds before Voldemort broke the door down.

Draco reappeared in someone's living room and dropped everything. He collapsed to the floor, and his eyes began to shut of their own accord. The last thing he saw was Fawkes go up in flames, meaning the phoenix couldn't use its tears to heal Draco. As he passed out, all he could hope was that Hermione was safe.

 **A/N: Just a quick note to the Guest reviewer going by "Musings"...please refrain from making inappropriate assumptions about me, my readers, or my books. If you believe we're simply fangirls supporting bullying, I assure you that is not the case, but feel free to stop reading (although if you did read this series, you'd know that my rendition of Draco is not racist and finds it very difficult to keep justifying what he's done to keep his secret from Voldemort). You clearly wanted attention, so here you go. Now please move on.**

 **For the rest of you, thank you for your continuous support and know that I appreciate all of you out there who remain positive!**


	33. 33: Shell Cottage

Hermione tumbled out of the air and hit the sand hard. She gritted her teeth as the particles entered her bloodstream. Brushing off the sand, she forced herself to stand up and look around. Ahead, standing by the water, was Dobby. And in the center of his tiny body was Bellatrix's knife, embedded in his chest.

"Dobby!" she shrieked, rushing forward. She looked around to see Griphook simply staring at the house-elf, and Ron was hobbling in her direction. Harry was passed out on the beach.

"Ron, give me your wand!"

"Hermione, your handbag!" Ron reminded her. "You left it at Malfoy Manor. And even if we did still have the dittany..."

"We've got to do something!" Hermione grabbed Ron's wand, but had no idea what to do. The house-elf's only hope was St. Mungo's, but he wouldn't survive another apparition. "Dobby...I'm so sorry."

Dobby gave her a small smile. "Dobby was happy to help Harry Potter and his friends escape." He stumbled forward and fell into Hermione's arms.

Tears began running down Hermione's cheek and Ron looked away, hiding his own. Neither had interacted much with Dobby, but he meant so much to Harry. And Hermione knew Draco would be devastated as well and blame himself.

Harry came to with a jolt. He looked around to find his friends looking really distraught. "Guys, you okay? What's going on?" He rose and approached his two friends. Ron stepped aside to reveal Dobby.

"No..." Harry trailed off. "No, no, no, Dobby, you'll be fine. Hermione! The dittany, where is it? The wand, give me that wand. Hermione?"

But she could only shake her head.

Harry took Dobby from her arms and pulled out the knife. "Hold on, Dobby, just hold on. Come on. Ron, go get Bill and Fleur, please!"

Ron turned back to face Harry. "I'm sorry, mate."

"Such a beautiful place," began Dobby, "to be with friends."

"Dobby, no, come on!" begged Harry.

"Dobby is happy to be with his friend, Harry Potter. For him, Dobby is forever thankful, and for Master Malfoy, for his friendship, too. Perhaps Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy will become...friends..."

Dobby's eyes glossed over, his heart coming to a stop.

"Harry."

Shaking with grief, Harry looked up at Hermione sitting across from him.

"We should close his eyes," she told him. Harry nodded and did just that.

Looking back at his friends, he declared, "I want to bury him. Properly, without magic."

Hermione nodded and stood up, Harry following suit. Together, the Golden Trio and Griphook climbed up the hill to Bill and Fleur's home. Ron knocked once before the door swung open.

"Brother!" Bill exclaimed, pulling Ron in for a hug. "You had me worried there, mate." Breaking free from Ron, he acknowledged the other two wizards. "Hermione, Harry, glad to see...oh Merlin."

Bill noticed Dobby in Harry's arms and quickly scooped him into his own arms, carrying him inside. "Fleur," he called.

Fleur hurried out of one of the rooms, setting down the two pillows she was carrying. "Mon Dieu! What has happened?" She summoned a large white sheet, unfolding it and placing it on the couch. Bill moved forward and set Dobby down on the sheet.

Just then, Fawkes surged into the room carrying Draco. The phoenix instantly burst into flames, and Draco dropped to the ground, passing out on a pool of blood.

"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed. She rushed to his side and used the wand she'd borrowed from Ron to wake him up, but it didn't work.

"Rennervate!" Finally, after three tries, the Slytherin's eyes shot open.

"Hermione!" Draco gasped for air. "Your wands—" he reached into his pocket and pulled out 6 wands and tossed them in front of him. "Hermione, my head."

She quickly grabbed her wand and asked, "What do I do?"

"The incantation is Vulnera sanentur. Do it three times—first to slow the blood flow, second to start healing, and third to fully close the wounds. I brought your bag, too, if you have any dittany." He grunted in pain and squeezed his eyes as the throbbing began again.

"Alright, don't move," Hermione instructed. "Vulnera sanentur." She waved her wand over the injured location and repeated herself twice more, watching carefully as the injury remedied itself.

"Accio dittany," she spoke, summoning it from her bag. The dittany would prevent the wound from scarring. "This'll sting a lot." She poured a generous amount of the liquid onto the wound, eliciting a hiss from Draco. "That's for not telling me about the Lovegoods."

"I'm really sorry, and I'll never forgive myself for putting you in danger, but I think you will once I explain."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time for that." Hermione stood up and pulled Draco up with her. Once she noted that he was much better, she punched him.

"Ow! Bloody hell, Hermione, what was that?" Only then did Draco realize that there were other people in the room. Potter and Weasley looked extremely shocked, Bill and Fleur kept glancing between the two Gryffindor boys and Draco and Hermione, and Griphook was just standing there.

"That's _also_ for not telling me about the Lovegoods," Hermione retorted. "Oh, and something I didn't get to do third year."

"It wasn't for a lack of trying," Draco reminded her, smirking. Then he groaned, feeling a bit dizzy. "I think I need a day off."

"Several," Hermione told him. "Look, I'm not happy about you lying to me, but you did help us get away, and I'm just guessing that this trunk you brought with you means you can't go back."

"You're right," came Potter's voice, surprising them both. He was sitting on a chair, trying to catch his breath. "I saw You-Know-Who in my head, just now. He was angry, extremely angry, to have lost not only us, but Malfoy as well. He's guessing that wherever he finds Malfoy, he'll find us as well."

Draco sighed. "For the moment, I think we're safe. No one will find us here. In the meantime, I think we _all_ need to catch up."

Hermione took the rest of the wands from the floor and started handing them out. "Harry, Ron, Fleur, can you give this to Mr. Lovegood?" She stuck the remaining two towards Draco. "Whose are these?"

"Bellatrix and Scabior's," he answered when he noticed the markings on her arm.

 _MUD_ , it said.

Taking Hermione's arm, Draco said, "This never should've happened. I'm so sorry I couldn't stop her." He was furious with Bellatrix. "If I hadn't been so busy looking for the—" he stopped himself. "I'll tell you about that later." He brandished his wand over her arm and spoke, "Episkey."

Nothing.

"Draco," Hermione said, "it's not your fault. And don't worry, I'll have Fleur patch me up."

"Fleur, _s'il vous plaît_ , can you help her immediately? She could become infected and scarred."

"Draco, calm down," Hermione told him. "I think everyone in this room is already scarred anyway."

"Everyone..." Draco trailed off. "Where's Dobby?"

The whole room went still. Hermione and Potter exchanged a look.

"Where's Dobby?" Draco repeated insistently. He turned to his left to find something peeking out from behind Bill and Fleur on the couch. He pushed past them to find the poor creature laying lifeless on a white sheet. He sank to his knees and simply stared.

"I'm sorry, Draco," Hermione said, kneeling beside him. "Bellatrix threw her knife right before Dobby apparated us away. There was nothing we could do, and I mean you as well. I know you're going to blame yourself, but you can't."

"Everything that happened today was a direct result of my actions!" Draco snapped. "First, I encouraged you to visit the Lovegoods. Then I left the Snatchers to go rest, which allowed them to go find you without me, which led to them catching you. And then—"

"Look, Malfoy," said Potter, standing up. "You and I have despised each other since we met, and last year we had quite the confrontation. I'm very eager to blame you, but you did help save my life twice this year. And I don't understand why, but Dobby wanted to tell you goodbye and thank you for your friendship. If Dobby could think of you in his last moments, then yeah, we really do need to catch up. But first, let's bury Dobby."

"Harry, when did you become so...level headed?" asked Hermione.

"Dobby's death put a lot into perspective. This whole day did."

Draco noticed that Weasel, the younger one, had been quiet the whole time. But rather than address it, he gave Potter his agreement. "Dobby didn't deserve to go like this. He must be remembered for all that he's done. Everything else can be dealt with afterwards."

Potter wanted to dig Dobby's grave with a shovel rather than use magic, so Draco respected his wishes and set to carve a stone with Bill's tools.

 _Here lies Dobby, a free elf_ , he chiseled.

Once the burial was finished, they went back to the cottage so Draco could explain himself to everyone, save for Griphook, who was healing in one of the guest rooms. When he finished, he took a deep breath. He hated storytelling.

"Sirius is alive?"

"Luna's safe?"

"The cure worked?"

Potter, Xenophilius, and Hermione all spoke at once, but Weasel followed with, "So you and Hermione."

Of course Weasel would pick that out of the entire story.

"Yes, me and Hermione."

"And when I found out last year, I was angry and you had to wipe my memory?"

Hermione nodded. "Look, Draco and I have been through a lot, and we've been friends since fourth year. It's not anything sudden and random, and I really need you to understand."

Weasley contemplated this for a moment. "I'm not saying I'm happy with this, but re-finding out this year makes me more open to it since Malfoy and I are back on decent terms since he helped me. And anyway, I realized I see you more like a sister anyway, Hermione. So I suppose you have my support."

"Thanks, Weasley," Draco said sincerely. "I know I've been quite an arse to you and Potter, and I tried to justify it, but perhaps I could've gone about this all a bit more...nicely."

"We understand," said Potter, "and I trust Hermione's judgement. Plus, if this was all some big ploy to get to me, I doubt I would've seen You-Know-Who so angry."

"There's also the time I hit your broom and you nearly plummeted to the ground," Weasley added, "so, erm, sorry about that."

"That was you?" Draco said. "I almost died."

"Yeah, well, I thought I was doing Harry a favor."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Moving on, please. We've got much to discuss.

"Yeah," Potter agreed. "You dropped several big bombs in that story of yours that we need to clear up."

Draco nodded. "Okay, so yes, Sirius is alive, and he's at the Hog's Head with Ollivander. Mr. Lovegood, I believe it would be best for you to go there as well since your house is no longer safe."

The older man agreed. "I shall go immediately, then."

"Luna will remain with my aunt Andromeda."

"Can't believe Ted is gone," Potter muttered. "Andromeda must be broken up."

"Luna will be able to help her get through it," Draco assured him. "Fawkes, please take Mr. Lovegood to Aberforth's office." The phoenix, now back to normal, did as asked.

"This whole time we never met Dumbledore's brother," Potter said.

"I'm sure you'll meet him sometime. The next order of business—Hermione's cure. Yes, it worked, so you'll be able to get your parents back after this whole mess is over."

Hermione sighed with relief. "I suppose that's the one good thing that came out of this whole situation."

"Now for the question on everyone's mind—how many Horxcruxes are left? If you'll recall, we got the diary, the diadem, Marvolo Gaunt's ring, and Slytherin's locket. I saw Hufflepuff's cup in Bellatrix's vault, so that's our next step. And as for the final Horcrux, I haven't got a clue."

"Then Gringotts it is," Potter declared, rising from his seat. "We need to talk to Griphook. He can help get us in."

Hermione frowned. "How on earth will we manage that when Bellatrix has her memory and Draco is out as a traitor?"

Draco pondered for a moment before giving her a grin. "How would you like to test out your acting skills?"

 **A/N:** **Writing Dobby's death had me tear up for real. Anyway, I hope you don't find it hard to believe that everyone's good with Draco because remember he did save Harry and Ron quite a bit over the seven years, and Harry's been suspect of Draco's true intentions since he saved him at the Battle of the 7 Potters, and Draco and Ron have been ok for awhile. And they both have Hermione's word and totally just saw Draco reveal himself to Voldemort. As for accepting Draco's relationship with their best friend, they're not completely okay with her hiding things, and that will be addressed in the next chapter.**


	34. 34: Friends, New & Old

It had been just over a month since the Trio and Draco and escaped Malfoy Manor. Draco had learned that Wormtail's false hand had killed him when he hesitated to kill Potter, which meant Snape was free to step back into Draco's old position. While the potion was brewing, Hermione had taught him how to apparate so he wouldn't have to rely on vaporizing anymore.

At the moment, they were preparing for the trip to Gringotts. Griphook had promised to assist as long as he got the sword of Gryffindor in return, and the Polyjuice Potion was ready for Hermione to turn into Bellatrix.

"Are you sure it's her hair?" Weasley said to Hermione as she stepped into the bathroom, holding a Bellatrix-style outfit Fleur had managed to procure from her Triwizard stylist. "Because last time you thought you had Milicent Bulstrode's hair and it was a bloody cat!"

Draco laughed, earning a stern look from Hermione. The girl turned back to Weasley to reassure him. "Yes, I'm sure. She got it on me during her carving session." The two boys grimaced and looked at each other. "And there were literally no animals anywhere, Ronald," Hermione added.

"I just want to make sure none of us has to dress up in...that..." Weasley finished, pointing to the tight corset.

"Then you all owe me one, don't you?" With that, Hermione shut the door.

"Ron," Bill called. "I need your help out in the garden."

"Coming!" Ron yelled back. As an aside, he muttered, "Even when Mum's not here, I still have to answer to her."

Draco was about to apparate to Blaise's home in Italy for their scheduled visit when Potter entered the room.

"Malfoy," Potter acknowledged. "I'm sure by now you're tired of hearing how Ron and I will kill you if you hurt Hermione, but you should also know I'm coming around."

"Thanks," Draco said. "And when are we going to talk about the fact that the Dark Lord went to Dumbledore's grave to look for the Elder Wand?"

Stunned, Potter walked closer and sat down in the chair across from him. "How did you know that?"

"Same as you," Draco explained. "You get those visions because you're connected to him by that scar. I think mine were passed down from my father or something to do with a glitch in the Death Eater initiation spell."

"I haven't told the others yet, and obviously neither have you. But that's because I want to reassure them by knowing where it is, and we haven't got a clue. When you did all your research for him, you tracked it to Dumbledore, didn't you?"

Draco nodded. "If he doesn't have it, then I don't know who could." Telling Potter that Draco had the wand would only put the wand in danger. He figured that even though he'd betrayed Voldemort, he wouldn't be as important as if Voldemort knew he had the wand. "But I still think we should tell them. There's no harm in that."

Potter agreed. "Then I'll tell them when they're back. Are you going to Blaise's now?"

"Yeah, I haven't seen him in two years so I'll have to catch him up on everything." Draco wasn't going to Gringotts with the Trio and Griphook because there wouldn't be enough room for everyone, and he'd elected to stay behind since it was easier to disguise Weasley and Potter was short enough to fit under the Invisibility Cloak with Griphook.

"I almost forgot," Draco added. He reluctantly pulled out the Invisibility Cloak from his robe pocket. "You'll need this. And, er, again, I'm sorry for destroying your nose and stealing this last year."

Potter rolled his eyes. "I reckon there'll be a lot of apologizing between you, me, and Ron for a long time."

"Good luck, and be careful. Griphook isn't the most trustworthy person in the world. I honestly think the only reason he didn't give me away in the Manor is because it wouldn't have suited him either. He's selfish and doesn't approve of wizards."

"Don't worry, I'll be on my guard. A golden cup at the top of a large stack of chests."

"Yeah," Draco confirmed. "But remember the curse I told you about."

"Right—don't touch anything." Potter took a deep breath. "I wish you'd've been able to get it when you visited the vault."

"If I had it, the Dark Lord would know as soon as he set foot in my house."

Just then, the bathroom door opened. Bellatrix's form came out, struggling to walk in the heeled boots.

"You would not believe how hard it is to put on a corset," Hermione told them.

"This is really disconcerting, 'Mione," Draco told her, taking in the sight of his aunt being impersonated by his girlfriend. He shook off the weirdness and asked, "You two ready?"

"We'll fix up Ron and then we'll leave," Hermione replied.

"Then I'm off.

"Tell Blaise we say hi!" Hermione reminded him.

"Of course, you all be careful." Draco apparated to the address Blaise had given him when Draco had contacted him a couple weeks ago.

He arrived in front of a beautiful villa, part of a group of similar homes clustered by the beach. As soon as he knocked on the door, it swung open.

"Welcome, mate!" greeted a very enthusiastic Blaise.

"Bloody hell, mate, you do know there's a war going on, right?"

"That I do, and I've got something that can help."

Draco followed Blaise into his house, taking his time to admire the grandeur. "How's your father?"

"Oh, he's great," Blaise replied, walking into the kitchen. "He's never been happier, to be honest. He's currently off on a business deal in Vienna for a few days. Oh, and the magic school here is SO much more fun than Hogwarts."

"Really?" Draco said, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yeah, and I get to live at home because we can apparate to school. The classes are much easier with a lot more variety, and we've got all these special activities clubs. Like I'm in a class comparing Muggle books to Wizard books and a club where we competitively hunt monsters." Blaise grabbed a bowl and poured some strange crackers into it.

"That sounds really cool, actually," Draco admitted, "but I've had enough monsters for a lifetime."

"Speaking of which, I'm glad to know you're free of the whole Death Eating thing."

"Except for this daily reminder." Draco pulled up his left sleeve. "Oh, I almost forgot. Hermione, Potter, and Weasley say hi."

Chuckling, Blaise said, "It's so weird that now you're all friends with them. I mean, remember how annoyed you were in our first year when I hung out with them for a bit?"

"We had an image to keep up, Blaise. And we're not friends, Blaise, we're just trying to get along for the sake of the war. As for Hermione...she's kind of more than a friend."

Blaise dropped the bowl onto the vinyl floor, breaking it into pieces.

Rolling his eyes, Draco fixed the bowl and levitated it to Blaise's hands before getting throwing all the crackers from the floor into the trash.

"More than a friend?" Blaise repeated.

"Yeah, we've kind of been together since last year, and I say kind of because, you know, the whole Death Eater and separation stuff."

"Never thought I'd see the day when the ice cold Slytherin Prince finds a girl," Blaise joked.

"Weird, that's exactly what Adrian said when he found out."

"You saw him? When? How is he?"

Draco poured himself a bowl of weird crackers before catching Blaise up on the last two years of his life, while Blaise did the same. They were just discussing Blaise's new friends when Draco felt a heating sensation in his pocket.

He pulled out the fake Sickle and read, _Trapped in vault._

Looking up at Blaise, he said, "They're stuck in my aunt's vault. I have to go."

Blaise got up with him. "I'm coming with you."

"Don't be ridiculous, Blaise, I'm not risking your life."

"I can fend for myself, and I've been out of this mess for too long. I want to help."

Draco thought about it for a moment and realized it would only be fair. "Alright, come on, then. We're going to Knockturn Alley."


	35. 35: Break In to Break Out

Draco and Blaise apparated into Knockturn Alley and quickly ducked behind a garbage bin.

"We still look like ourselves!" Blaise whispered.

"Leave that to me," Draco replied. With a quick flick of his wand, Blaise now had long, shaggy black hair and a beard that covered half his face.

"What about you?" asked Blaise.

"Don't worry, I've got the Invisibility...blast! I gave it back to Potter!"

"Just disguise yourself like you disguised me."

"I can't, Blaise, I'm much too recognizable, and the spells I know won't hide what's my hair color and eyes. If only I were a Metamorphmagus like my cousin."

"Draco, mate, did you forget? You're an Animagus!"

Realization dawned on the other Slytherin. "Oh, that's right. Although a wolf draws too much attention."

"I can transfigure you into a dog and back into a wolf!" Blaise said excitedly. "We just learned it last month." He shook his head and tutted. "And I scoffed at Signora Alfonsi when she said we'd never know when we might need it."

"I sure am glad you came along," Draco admitted. "Will I still have my own brain?"

Blaise grimaced. "Yeah, see, I didn't think I'd need to use the spell so I didn't really look into all the effects."

Draco let out a sigh of frustration. "Fine, you'll have to do it anyway—it's our only shot." He reached into his pocket and took out the fake Sickle, transfiguring it into a dog collar and leash.

"Once I turn into a wold," he instructed, "put this collar around me and hold onto the leash before you transfigure me because I might run off. Then once we get on the cart, you'll have to turn me back and take off the collar, and I'll become myself again."

"Just one thing," Blaise said. "It's a great plan and all, but how are we actually getting in?"

"Ever used an Unforgivable before?"

Blaise looked a bit nervous, shaking his head. "You want me to use the Imperius, don't you?"

Nodding, Draco reminded him, "You really have to mean it for it to work. Don't worry, I know you'll pull this off."

"Draco, you're forgetting one reason why I won't—I'm not you."

But he was too late. Draco had already turned into the wolf. Inhaling deeply, Blaise put the collar on the wolf and performed the spell. As soon as the wolf turned into a dog, he took off.

"Blast, he was right!" Blaise exclaimed to himself, chasing after the dog, whose leash he forgot to hold. "Accio dog!" This worked, but unfortunately, the dog flew right into Blaise, sending them both crashing into the dumpster.

"Sorry, mate," Blaise apologized, taking the leash. "Let's go."

Blaise walked the dog into Gringotts, instantly getting loads of stares. He decided to pretend he was blind and that the dog was guiding him, giving a few signs like crashing into the pillar, and everyone went back to what they were doing. That acting class he took last year had sure paid off. He slowly made his way to the front desk and watched as the goblin continued writing, not looking up from his work.

Sneaking his wand out of his robe, Blaise pointed and whispered, "Imperio."

"Right this way, Mister Alfonsi," the goblin said, leading Blaise to the cart. Blaise could now hear the alarm going off, but it seemed like it had been ringing much before Blaise got there, so he couldn't have set it off.

"Thanks," Blaise told him before commanding the goblin to turn around. He quickly turned Draco back into a wolf and took the collar off so Draco could turn back into himself.

The first words out of Draco's mouth were "I wonder where all the squirrels were."

Blaise gaped at Draco as the latter realized what he'd just said.

"I think I found one of the side effects," Draco told him. Jumping into the cart with Blaise and the goblin, he said, "Good thing you didn't send this one back. We need him to open the door. Now command him to take us to Bellatrix Lestrange's vault before the guards get there. With this bloody alarm, it'll be a miracle if we get there first."

Only when they were at the Thief's Downfall did Draco realize he'd forgotten to tell Blaise about the Thief's Downfall.

"What just happened?" Blaise demanded, as his hair shrank back to normal.

"What's going on here?" the goblin demanded, no longer under the spell.

"Imperio!" Draco quickly recast the curse and the goblin went back to before. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you that waterfall destroys all disguises and curses and such. But we're fine, we just need to—Stupefy!"

Draco had spotted from afar that the Gringotts guards had reached the vault. He quickly Stunned the rest of them before they could open the vault. The cart came to a halt and the two boys and goblin got out. They now had to pass the dragon, so they grabbed the noisemakers and rang them until they got to the other side.

Just a few steps ahead, one last guard that Draco hadn't seen before was approaching the vault. He used his wand to switch off the alarm, allowing Draco to catch him off guard with a Stun. Once that was taken care of, Draco instructed the goblin to open the vault.

The door swung open, piles of gold objects flooding out. Hermione and the others must have accidentally triggered the Gemino Curse when they were trapped.

Finally, Draco saw an arm. He pulled the owner out—it was Weasley. The redhead gasped for air as he was pulled up.

"What happened in here?" he asked as Blaise pulled out Potter and Hermione.

"Blaise!" Hermione exclaimed. "It's great to see you, but we've got to go."

Answering Draco, Potter said, "We got the cup, but Griphook took the sword and locked us in. We nearly suffocated in there."

"I knew he couldn't be trusted," Draco grumbled. "It's probably revenge for what happened at Malfoy Manor."

"How are we going to get out of here?" Weasley asked.

Draco and Blaise shared a look and together they said, "Dragon."

The party of five took off, leaving the goblin to wander by himself.

"I'll distract him, you all get on," Draco suggested.

"Hold on, Malfoy," said Potter. "I'm the one who stole the dragon's egg in the Triwizard Tournament."

"Well do you seen a broom nearby that you can summon?"

Suddenly, Draco had an idea. "Actually, if you want to help, when you get on the dragon, you need to summon me. Otherwise I can't get on."

"How on earth are you going to distract a dragon without getting roasted alive?"

"Just trust me!" With that, Draco turned into a wolf, completely shocking Potter and Weasley.

"What the bloody—"

"Come on, Ron!" Hermione cut him off.

The three Gryffindors and Blaise carefully mounted the dragon as Draco distracted it with his howling. The dragon moved forward with uncertainty. Just as it was about to blast Draco, Potter summoned him up. Midway through the air, Draco turned back into himself and gripped the dragon's spikes with both hands. Potter quickly pulled him off before Hermione destroyed the chain, allowing the dragon to rise up and crash through the next two ceilings of Gringotts.

"Defodio!" yelled Hermione, enlarging the passageways for the dragon. The alarm rang out as the dragon took off into the sky, flying over London.

"This is just like when I rode Buckbeak," Draco and Potter said at the same time, then looked at each other, frowning.

The dragon glided smoothly past hills and forests until they arrived over a lake.

"We have to jump now!" Hermione instructed them. Clutching her handbag, she leaped into the water, the boys following suit.

As Draco crashed through the freezing lake, he could see Voldemort arrive at Gringotts in a heavy rage and wipe out half the staff. Finding the goblin that helped Draco and Blaise, the Dark Lord looked into its memories to see what happened before killing the poor creature.

"They have discovered our secret, Nagini," the Dark Lord told the snake as the walked through the main hall of Gringotts. "It makes us vulnerable. We must do all that we can to find them. And you, my friend, must stay close."

Draco saw that Voldemort's next steps would be to check on the ring at the Gaunt shack, the locket in the cave, and finally the diadem at Hogwarts, where he vowed to wreak havoc.

Rising out of the water, Draco sputtered and coughed.

"Draco!" Hermione called.

"I'm alright!" he replied.

"We have to get to Hogwarts!" Potter put in, as they all swam to shore.

With a quick spell, Draco dried them all off.

"Why?" asked Weasley as he changed into the clothes Hermione gave him.

"You-Know-Who is going there right after checking on the other Horcrux locations," Potter answered.

"Nagini must be the last Horcrux," Draco added. "As soon as we get to Hogwarts, we need to destroy the cup immediately because I reckon the time lapse between killing Nagini and killing the Dark Lord won't be too long since they're always together."

"How do we get into Hogwarts?" Blaise asked. "Through Hogsmeade?"

Draco nodded. "We'll go to the Hog's Head. Aberforth can help us. Is everyone ready?"

"We can't destroy the cup without the sword of Gryffindor," Hermione reminded them.

"Wait," said Weasley. "What about the basilisk fang? It worked with the diary."

"Weasley, that's probably the smartest you've ever been," Draco told him.

Weasley beamed at the compliment when he realized what it implied about his intelligence.

"There isn't much time," Hermione said. "Let's go."

They all held onto each other as they apparated into Hogsmeade. Much to their dismay, they were greeted by more alarms.

"This is going to be one rough night," Draco commented as he drew out his wand. Little did he know just how accurate his prediction would be.


	36. 36: The Battle Begins

Within seconds, the group was faced with several dementors.

"Expecto Patronum!" yelled Potter, releasing a fluorescent stag from his wand.

"Quickly, in here!" called a voice. Draco turned to find Aberforth holding open the door to the Hog's Head.

They all ran inside without waiting another moment. Aberforth shut the door and went outside for a brief moment, no doubt to throw the guards off their trail. Soon, Dumbledore's brother was back inside.

"Welcome back, Draco," the older man greeted. "And you've brought friends." He looked to the others as they each introduced themselves.

"I'm sure you've determined by now that I am your old headmaster's brother," Aberforth continued. "He was always very private, my brother. Always meddling in the matters of others, yet never letting a soul seek out his own." He sighed.

"It was you I saw in the mirror," Potter realized aloud. "You sent Dobby to rescue us."

"I did indeed. Where is the house-elf?"

Potter glanced at the others before saying, "He's gone, sir. He was killed."

Aberforth looked at him with pitying eyes. "I'm quite sorry to hear that."

"Aberforth, we need to get inside Hogwarts," Draco told him. "Is there anyway you could help us?"

The man looked at the girl in the portrait behind them and nodded his head. Draco turned to see the girl bow hers in return and take off.

"In the meantime, I sure there's someone you'd like to greet." Aberforth moved out from behind his desk and led them down the hall to a room. He knocked three times, no more, and the door swung open within a couple moments.

"What can we do for you?" asked Sirius, poking his head out.

Aberforth merely stepped aside to reveal the group.

"Draco, good to see you!" Sirius told the first one he saw. Looking next at the Golden Trio, he ruffled the boys' hair and smiled at Hermione. "I'm glad to see you're all well." Finally, he turned to Blaise, and introductions were made. "You'll be wanting to see the others." He led them inside the small room.

Once they were done greeting Xenophilius and Ollivander, Draco stepped forward. "We have reason to believe You-Know-Who is coming here tonight. We've got a couple tasks to complete before dealing with him, but there's no doubt as to what's coming our way."

"We need your help," Potter told them. "Come to Hogwarts with us, and help the students get ready for a fight. And while you're at it, maybe you could send word to the Order somehow."

"I'll send a Patronus," Sirius agreed.

The eight wizards left the room to meet Aberforth back in the lobby of the Hog's Head. Draco could see the girl in the painting coming back, bringing someone with her. She came back to her normal position and the painting swung to the side, revealing none other than Neville Longbottom.

"Harry, Hermione, Ron! I'm so glad you're all safe. Sirius Black! I've heard so much about you. Mr. Ollivander great to see you again after so long. Mr. Lovegood, I presume, your daughter and I were good friends, but I'm afraid I haven't seen her in a long time. Blaise? What are you doing back?" That was when he noticed Draco, standing behind everyone else.

"Malfoy?!" Longbottom exclaimed.

"We'll explain later," Hermione assured him. "We need to get out of here, but for now, you should know you can trust him."

Longbottom eyed Draco warily before reluctantly agreeing. "Alright, everyone follow me."

"Where does this thing lead?" Weasley asked as they all climbed into the hole behind the painting.

"Room of Requirement, actually," Longbottom replied.

"Really?" said Potter.

"Death Eaters tried to attack my gran over Easter break."

"Oh, I remember that," Draco chuckled. "It was actually the Auror Dawlish. He's in the hospital now, if that's any indication of your grandmother's skill."

Longbottom laughed then quickly shut up when he realized who he was laughing with. Clearing his throat, he continued, "So after that happened and after Luna never came back to school, we knew we weren't even safe inside our own school. A bunch of us gathered in the Room of Requirement and we've been living there for about a month."

"Luna's fine, Neville," Hermione said. "She's at the house of Andromeda Tonks, and we suspect they'll be here within a few hours to help us."

"Help with what?"

Hermione exchanged a look with Draco before replying, "It's best we tell everyone at once."

"Just how many people are we talking here?" Potter asked as they reached the end of the tunnel.

Longbottom opened the door to reveal his answer. Nearly a fourth of the school was quartered in the room, hammocks slung about, a large bookshelf and several desks scattered about. There was a long table with a pitcher of pumpkin juice and a half-eaten pie. Students were practicing spells in the corner or chatting as they lay on makeshift beds on the floor.

"Everyone, everyone quiet!" the boy shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Look who I've got." Following that, Potter stepped out to cheers.

Someone on their left spoke into a radio, saying, "Lightning has struck. I repeat, Lightning has struck."

"Can I have everyone's attention?" Potter asked, but the people kept cheering and talking amongst themselves.

Just then, Ginny Weasley stormed her way to the front of the crowd, silencing the room. She marched right up to Potter and slapped him before engulfing him in a hug. "How dare you leave without me!" She pulled away and turned to Hermione. "You made my mum a list of guys I dated?!"

Draco nearly laughed out loud at the memory from when he, Hermione, and Luna had visited Theo and Pansy at the Burrow.

Loads of greeting and happiness followed until once more, someone caught sight of Draco in the back.

"What's Malfoy doing here?"

"Potter got Malfoy!"

"How's it feel now, scum?"

If only the Daily Prophet had made Draco Undesirable No. 2, perhaps people would understand.

"If you'll all settle down, I can explain," Potter tried.

Rolling his eyes, Draco stepped forward and cast the voice amplifier on Potter.

"LISTEN UP!" the Chosen One roared, looking surprised at himself. Draco reversed the spell, giving Potter back his regular voice. "Look, I know Malfoy's never been a welcome sight, but he's saved our lives quite a bit. He was only a Death Eater so he could sabotage You-Know-Who from the inside, but no time for explanations now. We need to prepare for battle. You-Know-Who is coming, and there's no time to waste. The Order of the Phoenix will soon be here to help us organize, but in the meantime, brush up on your magic. Tonight we won't get second chances. This is what we've been working towards our entire time at Hogwarts. Are we ready?"

"YEAH! WHOO! WE GOT THIS!" were among the many exclamations from the crowd.

"Nice speech, Potter," Draco commented.

"I can be quite inspiring if need me," came his reply.

"Can I inspire you to give me the Invisibility Cloak back?"

"Back?" Potter raised an eyebrow. "It was mine in the first place."

"Right, again, sorry about that, but I've got a feeling I'll need it more than you."

Potter pulled out the cloak and stared at it. "There's always a hint of a chance that you're not who you say you are."

"Potter, you've got to trust me. If not for me, then for Hermione." Draco could see Potter understood that his school nemesis really did care for the Gryffindor witch.

Handing him the cloak, Potter said, "One wrong step, and everyone in this whole room will be on your tail." He turned away to greet the members of the Order as they exited the tunnel. Draco hid the cloak in his robe pocket and followed suit.

"Luna!" Herimone called, rushing over for a hug.

"How've you been?" Draco added.

"Excellent, actually. There are far fewer Nargles at your aunt's home than you'd expect."

"Draco, mate!" came a familiar voice. He turned around to find Theo and Pansy engulfing him in their arms.

"Alright, alright," Draco said, pulling back. "I'm no use in this battle if I die of suffocation."

"Look who we brought with us!" Pansy stepped aside excitedly as Adrian came out of the tunnel.

"Adrian, mate, what're you doing here?" Draco asked, greeting his friend.

"Father thought it was best to send me away with the Dark Lord's eye on our family, so I owled Theo."

Then Draco spotted Dean Thomas, a boy he barely knew, whose companions he could not save.

The Gryffindor approached Draco slowly. "Harry says I'm to trust you."

"Look, I'm really sorry about Ted Tonks," Draco said. "I'd hoped he'd get away same as you."

Thomas nodded. "It's war, I suppose. And I bet I've got you to thank for saving me somehow." With that, he disappeared into the crowd.

The whole Weasley family was next, and they reunited happily with the daughter and youngest son. Even Draco was pleased to see the twins, who found Draco's double-agency to be the best "trick" they'd seen yet.

Finally, Bill, Fleur, Draco's cousin Tonks, and his old professor Lupin had joined the rest of them, and Longbottom shut the tunnel door.

As the adults organized the students, Potter made his way to Draco, Hermione, and the two youngest Weasleys. "We need to let McGonagall know what's coming. She'll be able to help us."

Ginny Weasley summoned robes from the room's storage closet for her brother, Potter, and Hermione. Quickly donning the clothing, they stepped out of the room, followed by several of the students, and made their way down to the Great Hall.

The tables were gone and the students were gathering in rows. Draco put his hood over his head and slowly stepped back into the crowd. The Golden Trio followed his lead, blending in with the large group.

Theo, Pansy, Luna, Blaise, Adrian, Weaslette, Thomas, and Longbottom made up the front, and the rest were hidden in the pack. As they all clustered together behind the students from Hufflepuff, the hall grew quiet. Snape had entered.

"Many of you are surely wondering why I have summoned you at this hour. It has come to my attention that Harry Potter was sighted in Hogsmeade earlier tonight," he spoke. "Should any of you, student or staff, choose to aid Mister Potter, you will be punished in a manner of equal severity to that of your trangression."

He began walking down the aisle. "If anyone here has any knowledge of Mister Potter's movements this evening, I invite them to step forward. Now."

Not a soul moved. Then suddenly, Potter squeezed past Draco and made his way into the aisle, eliciting many gasps. "It seems that despite all your exhaustive defensive strategies, you still have a bit of a security problem, Headmaster."

With that, the Order of the Phoenix, led by none other than Kingsley Shacklebolt, opened the doors to the Great Hall and took their places behind Potter.

"How dare you stand where he stood?" Potter demanded.

Draco reckoned he should have told Potter about Snape's true allegiance, but it wasn't Draco's secret to tell.

"Tell them all how it happened that night! Tell them all how you looked into the eyes of a man you trusted you, and killed him."

Snape hesitated, then whipped out his wand, but McGonagall rushed out to stand before Potter. Everyone gasped and moved against the walls. The head of Gryffindor threw the first spell, but it was blocked. She repeated, shooting spell after spell, until finally, Snape was forced to retreat, vaporizing out the large window.

The Great Hall erupted in cheers.

Draco watched as Potter suddenly dropped to the ground. The sky erupted with thunder as a sharp whispering sound cut through the crowd.

Then came his voice.

"I know many of you want to fight. Some of you many even think that to fight is wise. But this is folly. Give me Harry Potter. Do this...and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have one hour."

It had begun.


	37. 37: Breaking the Shield

"Well, someone grab him!" said Daphne Greengrass. "He's right there!"

"Alright, hold it!" Draco called, stepping out next to Potter. The whole room went up in gasps again, including McGonagall.

"Yes, I'm a Death Eater, big deal, thanks." Lowering his voice, he said, "You and Weasel need to go get the basilisk fang now. I'll take it from here."

"Students out of bed!"

Draco turned to see Filch running down the hall with Mrs. Norris.

"Students in the corridor!"

"They are supposed to be out of bed, you blithering idiot!" McGonagall informed him.

"Oh..." Filch trailed off. "Sorry ma'am."

"It seems your arrival is rather opportune. I would have you escort Daphne Greengrass and the rest of Slytherin house out of the hall to the dungeons."

"Wait!" Milicent Bulstrode called out, to Draco's surprise. She stepped forward shyly. "If you don't mind, Professor, I'd like to stay and help fight."

"Me too," said Bradbury Stevens, now a third year. "My mum's a Quidditch player, not a Death Eater. And my dad's a healer. So I'm helping out."

Draco was proud of the boy for stepping up, even though he was so young. Slowly, several more Slytherins began to declare their intent to fight until there were only a handful left.

"Very well," McGonagall agreed. "Mr. Filch, please take students from any of the houses who wish not to fight, as well as the first and second year students, and escort them to their common rooms, where they will be safe."

Filch nodded and led the students out of the hall.

Draco turned back to Potter and Weasley. "You two go down to the chamber and destroy that cup." The two Gryffindors rushed off to just that.

Professor Flitwick said to Hermione, "Miss Granger, would you please accompany me outside to help set up protection charms?"

"Certainly, Professor. Shall I bring help?"

"Yes," Flitwick said, turning to the other students. "Anyone who finds him or herself particularly adept at protection charms will follow me outside to the courtyard now."

Hermione and a handful of other students fell behind the Charms professor as they made their way out of the great hall. Soon after, Professor McGonagall led Slughorn and Molly Weasley out to the front of the school, Longbottom and Finnigan on their tails. Draco scanned the room and found that the Carrows were out of sight. McGonagall had knocked them down during the fight with Snape, but now they were gone. Each Order member led a group of students out of the hall, no doubt to guard the difference areas of the castle.

"Theo," Draco called. "I need you to go secure the Slytherin common room. No one gets in or out. I don't know if the password can be overridden, but I'm sure the portrait can be blasted."

"You got it, mate," Theo replied, leaving the hall.

"Luna, can you do the same for your common room?"

The Ravenclaw nodded and took off.

"Blaise, you'll have to take care of Hufflepuff's common room since they all just went off to help Flitwick."

"Yeah, that's fine."

"As for Gryffindor—"

"I'll do Gryffindor," Dean Thomas interjected. Draco could sense the boy still didn't really like him, but at least he was cooperating.

"Great, then that's settled. Pansy, Adrian, come with me. We'll go help guard the entrance."

The three Slytherins left the Great Hall and exited the castle. Outside, there were giant statues gathering on the bridge, a proud McGonagall watching over them. Draco began casting all the protection spells he knew, his friends following suit.

In about a half hour, the entire castle was under all the protection its inhabitants could conjure up. Potter and Weasley had successfully destroyed Hufflepuff's Cup and were now running towards Draco.

"Potter, you can't be here," Draco told him. "You need to go hide or something."

"Hide? I think it's a bit late for that, don't you? Besides, we've got time and we need to come up with a plan to defeat him."

However, it seemed Voldemort had other plans because at that moment, hundreds of spells started flying at the protective dome from outside, attempting to destroy it.

"That's not fair, it hasn't been an hour yet!" proclaimed Weasley.

"You really think Voldemort's gonna play by the rules?" Draco said. "Potter, get to the Room of Requirement. Take the Vanishing Cabinet to Borgin & Burkes and get out of here."

"I'm not leaving now, Malfoy. I'm not going to escape and let everyone else fight to protect me."

"If you leave, so will he—"

"But not until he destroys every bit of this castle trying to find me."

Draco knew Potter was right, but thankfully Hermione had an idea.

"Harry, we still need the sword to kill his snake, right?" she reminded. "Because you can't even try to get near it with a basilisk fang. So maybe you should go looking for the Sorting Hat, because like Dumbledore used to say, a true Gryffindor can always pull the sword out of the hat."

"Where is he supposed to find the hat?" asked Weasley. "Room of Requirement?"

Potter said, "That wouldn't be a bad place to start. I'll go see if I can ask the Room for the hat, and if not, then maybe it can give me a way to find the hat." With that, he took off into the castle.

Draco performed a quick sight amplification spell to get a closer look at Voldemort's front lines.

With the Dark Lord was Bellatrix, just as bloodthirsty as ever, accompanied by her husband and brother in law. The fathers of Crabbe, Goyle, and Theo were there as well, but no sign of Scabior and the Snatchers. They must have been coming in from the bridge in the back. Draco could only hope that it was well protected.

As it happened, Ginny and a small group were standing guard at the point connecting the bridge to the castle. Neville had gone ahead to the end of the bridge, looking out over it, when suddenly a large mass of Death Eaters came running from the woods behind. Two Death Eaters ran out in front, but were quickly engulfed and destroyed by the shield, causing everyone else to stop.

Neville felt very confident now, yelling out, "Yeah? You and whose army?"

Just then, there was a loud thundering, but it wasn't the clouds. A giant force slammed into the shield and slowly began eating away at the protection. It looked like the world was going up in flames.

Neville stepped back as he watched a flame fall from the shield. Scabior twirled it with his wand and let it drop. Very slowly Scabior lowered his foot onto the ground on the other side of the shield. To his delight, he was fine. He grinned at Scabior then called out a war cry, leading the charge ahead.

Immediately, Neville spun around and began running for his life. He shot several spells over his shoulder, hoping they did some damage. With one last shot, the bridge began to crumble. As the Death Eaters realized this, they ran even faster, trying to escape the fall, but they weren't fast enough. Unfortunately, the collapse of the bridge was catching up to Neville and he fell as the wood gave out from under him.

"Neville!" Ginny cried out, rushing forward. Luckily, Neville had caught the bar on the side and held on for dear life. Ginny pulled him up and the whole group rushed back inside the castle to warn the others.

Meanwhile on the other side of Hogwarts, Draco had watched in horror as Voldemort successfully penetrated the shield. The Death Eaters took full flight forward, followed by trolls and giants that took out everything in their path. Draco vaporized into the air and flew forward, blasting away any other flying Death Eaters. He arrived in the middle of the bridge and morphed into a wolf before charging back towards Hogwarts, taking out the three trolls by biting their legs and pulling them down. He quickly turned back into himself in time to hear McGonagall call out to the students, "Get inside!"

He followed everyone through the courtyard as they tried to dodge the Death Eaters' spells. Inside, he caught up with Hermione and Wealsey, telling them to follow him.

"We need to get to the Room of Requirement," he explained. The three of them took off, blasting away the Death Eaters who flew in behind them.

"Hermione!" called Ginny Weasley, sprinting towards them. "We need you. Slughorn taught us this fire-breathing potion that you learned last year, and he said you were always the best at focusing it on your target. The Death Eaters broke through the barrier on the bridge back by the forest."

"Hold them off for as long as you can!" Hermione replied. "I need to go get Harry and then I'll stop by Slughorn's classroom to get the potion from his stores."

It was a long trip, but they finally made it to the Room. The door was still visible and it swung open with Potter carrying the Sorting Hat, both covered in dirt and ashes.

"Bloody hell, mate, what happened?" Weasley asked. Then they all watched a giant fire snake sped towards the door.

"Crabbe and Goyle," Potter panted out. "Crabbe set the bloody place on fire!"

"How did they get out of the Slytherin Common Room?" Weasley asked. "Wasn't Nott supposed to seal it shut?"

Hermione said, "They must have got out before he got there. Harry, come with me. I need to go help Ginny and you need to find the snake. You two," she pointed to Draco and Weasley "take care of this." She and Potter ran down the hall and flew down the stairs.

"Water spell, quick," said Draco.

Together, the boys shouted, "Aguamenti!" Jets of water shot out of their wands and briefly protected them as they entered the room and rolled out of the fire snake's way.

"Malfoy!"

Draco whipped around to see Crabbe and Goyle marching towards them triumphantly, wands pointed right at Draco and Weasley.

Just then, the fire snake burst outside and set the hallway into flames.

"Crabbe, are you completely mad?!" Draco yelled over the roar. "You're going to kill us all!"

"Don't worry, I'm only here to kill you," Crabbe taunted. Goyle had his wand on Weasley, but he looked very uncertain.

"Goyle, put the wand down. Aren't you tired of this? You and your mum can live out the rest of your days in peace once your father goes to Azkaban."

Goyle seemed to be listening, but one look at Crabbe, and he kept his wand in place.

"Fine, have it your way," Weasley muttered, flinging a hex at Goyle. Draco did the same to Crabbe, who blocked it him. Draco knew he could easily take Crabbe, but if he did so, Crabbe would either die by his hand or fall into the fire. But even though he wasn't trying to kill Crabbe, his childhood friend was trying his best to kill him.

The entire room was still in flames. No doubt Crabbe had cast Fiendfyre, but he couldn't properly control it so the fire kept shooting in their direction. Just then, a large cloud of smoke slowly approached Crabbe, a flame suddenly bursting forth.

"Crabbe, watch out!"

"Your tricks won't fool me, Malfoy," the boy countered. Goyle turned around and in that moment decided to stop dueling Weasley. The Gryffindor and the Slytherin locked eyes and ran for the door.

"Goyle, where you going?" Crabbe demanded.

Draco was slowly stepping back as he kept blocking Crabbe's spells.

"Crabbe, the fire is coming right for you!"

But it was too late. Draco barely had a moment to register the look of shock on Crabbe's face as the fire engulfed him completely and charged towards the door. Draco turned and ran as fast as he could, following Weasley and Goyle down the hall. Just then, Theo, one of the Weasley twins, and Percy Weasley came up the stairs, pursued by Death Eaters.

"Fred!" Ron Weasley called out. Draco turned around to keep the fire at bay while the others fought the Death Eaters.

"Guess what, little brother?" Fred Weasley smiled at him. "Percy just quit his job at the Ministry. I guess it was for the best, since killing the Minister wouldn't get him up the ladder!"

"Theo, mate, help me out?" Draco asked.

"A little busy, actually!" Theo called back as he took out more Death Eaters. With everyone distracted, Goyle sprinted down the stairs and out of their sight, no doubt to get to Hogsmeade and apparate home.

"We need to leave!" Draco told them. "I can't hold it for much longer!" He slowly backed up towards the stairs.

The Death Eaters pushed on, but were slowly falling. Theo and Ron defeated the wizards they were fighting and circled around them to get on the stairs. Percy and Fred finally took care of the last Death Eater and followed Draco to where the others were, but at the last moment, someone from the floor below shot a hex at them all, and Draco immediately blocked it, letting go of the fire blockade. The fire immediately rushed after them.

"Percy, Fred, come on!" Ron called as they all clambered down the stairs.

"Hold your horses, little brother," Fred told him. "This is like the time we were all rushing to see if Bill liked the new haircut George and I gave him while he was asleep. And the fire was Mum!"

Then out of nowhere, a Death Eater's spell collided with the fire and there was a loud explosion near the middle of the stairs. Fred shot into the air and tumbled down onto the next floor.

"Fred!" his brothers cried out, racing to him.

"Come on, Fred," Percy nudged as the other one teared up. "Fred, wake up. Rennervate! Fred!"

"Fred, no, you can't do this to us!" Ron shook his brother really hard, hoping it would wake him up, but to no avail. Percy put his two fingers on Fred's neck and looked down with grief as Ron buried his face into Fred's shoulder. Percy closed Fred's eyes, and it now looked like Fred was happily dreaming of his last great joke.

Theo put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "He fought so bravely, mate. Come on, we need to keep going."

Percy nodded and rose. "We'll have to put his body somewhere safe for now."

The three of them picked up Fred's body and made for a suit of armor. Draco moved forward to help, only to be interrupted by the Dark Lord himself.


	38. 38: Do You Understand?

"I do not need to seek the boy. Before the night is out, _he_ will come to _me_ , do you understand?"

Draco fell back against the wall as he watched Voldemort march to Rabastan Lestrange and slap him.

"Look at me!" the Dark Lord commanded. "Is there anything of value you would like to contribute? Or do you wish to remain useless?"

"M-my Lord," Rabastan whimpered. As he attempted to collect his thoughts before his master, Draco took in the scene, attempting to determine where they were. The building seemed to be made of wood. Nagini was slithering on the ground by a door. But Draco could not make out the location by the time Rabastan had found something to say.

"My Lord, what about Malfoy?" the Death Eater asked. "Allow me to find him and destroy him as a service to you."

"A service?" Voldemort roared. "You believe it would be a service to hand out justice to a boy who betrayed _me_?"

"No! No, my Lord, I—"

"As it happens, Draco Malfoy is the least of my worries. If the boy knows what is best for him, he will not interfere with the battle. He won't stand a chance with both sides against him."

"But my Lord, he helped Potter escape."

Voldemort shook his head. "I pity you are not more intelligent like your brother. Draco Malfoy only helped Potter so he himself could escape. After his parents abandoned out cause, why would he not do the same?"

Rabastan had no answer.

"Perhaps you still have some use," Voldemort said. "Go fetch Severus for me. I must speak with him immediately."

Rabastan bowed and quickly ran out of the room. The scene evaporated in Draco's mind as the image in front of him came into focus.

"Mate, you alright?" Theo asked.

Draco nodded. "I have to go. Something's come up." Without a second glance, he sprinted down the corridor and made his way all the way down to the first floor. If he'd seen Voldemort, then Potter must have as well. Draco needed to find the Gryffindor and figure out where Snape was headed, other than to his doom. Why else would the Dark Lord require his services in the middle of a battle?

He found the fake sickle in his pocket and messaged Hermione. _Where are you?_ No reply. He pocketed the coin and raced down to the bridge at the back entrance, only to find Death Eaters pouring in. He turned around and made for the courtyard. Acromantulas were running all around, trolls were causing chaos, and Death Eaters stormed in by the hundreds. Draco spotted Hermione ducking behind a bell as a troll swung his club at her. Not far behind her were Potter and Ron Weasley, who must have left his brothers and Theo after Draco did.

Dementors started flooding towards them from all around when suddenly, a bright white light shoved them all away. Draco turned to see that Aberforth had joined the battle.

As soon as they were clear, the three Gryffindors took off, Draco in pursuit. He didn't dare call out to them, though, in case a Death Eater heard.

Out of nowhere, Rabastan Lestrange flew into Draco, knocking him to the ground.

"Look what we've got here!" he exclaimed. "The Dark Lord's very own traitor!"

"Didn't he warn you to stay away from me?" Draco said, taking the older man by surprise.

Rabastan simply retaliated with a curse, which Draco easily deflected.

"Don't try me, Lestrange. I haven't got time for the likes of you."

"Yeah? And what about your parents? Where are those bloody cowards?"

As Draco tried to keep Hermione in his sight, he failed to hit Rabastan with his Sectumsempra. He ran towards the Trio, who were headed towards the Whomping Willow.

"That's right, run away, Malfoy! It's what you do best! Flipendo!"

Draco deflected the jinx and shot him with a Stun, which caught Rabastan square in the chest. Satisfied, Draco kept running as Hermione slid into the Whomping Willow. He caught up just in time to slide down into the tunnel before the tree went back to normal.

He couldn't see Hermione and had no idea where he was, so he simply lit his wand and followed the path. Before long, he saw a light. He wrapped the Invisibility Cloak around himself and emerged on the other side. It was a small hallway, similar to the one he had seen. He could now see the Golden Trio hiding behind a large wooden structure near a room with frosted glass windows. Draco quietly walked forward and peered into the room.

Snape stood against the window while Voldemort and Nagini stood in the middle of the room.

"While you live," the Dark Lord was saying, "the Elder Wand truly cannot be mine. I may not possess the wand, but soon, I will be its master."

Draco frowned. Surely Voldemort was not naive enough to believe Snape was the master of the Elder Wand. After all, everyone saw Draco disarm Dumbledore.

"You've been a good and faithful servant, Severus, but only I can live forever."

With a flick of his wand, Voldemort slit Snape's throat and vaporized out of the room with his snake.

Instantly, Draco rushed to his godfather and began healing him, but before he could do much, Potter and the others stumbled into the room. The Boy Who Kept Living While Others Died knelt by Snape and placed his hands around the throat to stop the bleeding, to no avail.

Draco wondered why no one was acknowledging him, but he kept trying to heal Snape, starting with repairing the vein in his neck.

A tear slipped out of Snape's left eye. "Take it," the man urged Potter.

Potter turned around and said, "Hermione, a flask. Quickly!"

Hermione rummaged in her bag and handed Potter a vial. He grabbed it and held it up to Snape's face, allowing the tear to fall in.

"Take it to the Pensieve in the headmaster's office," Snape instructed. Potter made to leave, but Snape held him back. "Look at me. You have your mother's eyes."

Draco could feel Snape losing consciousness so he Imperiused Potter to leave. When they were gone, Draco dropped down, the Invisibility Cloak slipping off his back. He'd forgotten he had it on.

"Professor!" he exclaimed. As fast as he could, he kept Snape conscious while stopping the blood flow. The man who taught him the power of healing now sat in front of him, slowly fading into nothingness. But if Draco let that happen, he would have failed his former teacher.

"Draco," Snape spoke softly while the boy worked on saving him. "Do you understand while I had to kill Dumbledore?"

Draco nodded. "The curse from Marvolo Gaunt's ring. Luna Lovegood told me. And also so I wouldn't have to kill someone."

"Now you must also understand that Potter will die."

"What?" Draco was confused, but maintained focus as he moved on from Episkey to Vulnera Santentur.

"I've given him my memories. He will learn and accept his fate, but then he must go to the Dark Lord. It's the only way the Dark Lord can be vanquished."

"But why?"

"You will later learn. Now you must let me go."

Draco shook his head. He had used every other healing spell in the book until Snape was finally in a suitable condition for transport.

"I refuse." He apparated them to St. Mungo's and got the attention of a healer. "His throat was slit, but I've managed to do as much as I can," he explained. As the healer nodded and brought out a stretcher, Draco told his godfather, "Dumbledore never lost faith in you, and neither will I."

As soon as the healer wheeled Snape out of Draco's sight, the Slytherin boy apparated back to Hogsmeade and ran towards his burning school.

 **A/N: So I kept Snape alive! (for now at least). I decided not to let Nagini attack him because he'd be more doomed that way. Not to mention, if Voldemort thinks killing Snape is the only way to win control of the Elder Wand, he won't let Nagini do it. While rewatching the Snape's death and Pensieve memory scenes in the movie, I'll admit I kept tearing up. Alan Rickman was truly a talented actor, and no one could have breathed so much life into the character we all thought we hated but eventually came to love.**


	39. 39: Accepting Fate

Draco burst into the castle just as a shrill voice pierced his head.

"You have fought valiantly but in vain. I do not wish this. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a terrible waste. I therefore command my forces to retreat. In their absence, dispose of your dead with dignity. Harry Potter, I now speak directly to you. On this night, you have allowed your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. There is no greater dishonor. Join me in the Forbidden Forest and confront your fate. If you do not do this, I shall kill every last man, woman, and child who tries to conceal you from me."

When the message was over, Draco made his way to the Great Hall, where rows of dead and wounded wizards lay on the ground, as well as piles of rubble that resulted from the fire and the battle. A Quaffle-sized chunk of the wall broke off and descended towards an injured fifth year. With a wave of his hand, Draco cast the chunk aside and let it fall on a pile of rubble. From a distance, he could see Flitwick and McGonagall working tirelessly to put out the fire and keep the castle together.

"Draco!" called Hermione.

The boy in question turned to find Hermione at the feet of Fred Weasley, along with the rest of the Weasley family. He jogged over and knelt beside her.

"I'm really sorry this happened," Draco told the grieving family. "I'm fairly certain I know who his killer was and I assure you he'll be taken care of."

"Percy already got to her, actually," said Bill.

"But it doesn't make up for anything," Percy added sadly.

"Miss Granger," called McGonagall. They turned to look at her. "If you don't mind, we must stop Hogwarts from burning down. Gather as many of your friends as you can and report to me."

"Of course, Professor," Hermione replied, standing.

Draco rose with her. "Wait, where's Potter?"

Hermione looked glum. "Harry looked really hard into Voldemort's head to figure out where he was so we went to the Shrieking Shack. We watched as he...he killed Snape."

Draco shook his head. "Snape's not dead. I took him to St. Mungo's."

A look of relief washed over Hermione. "Thank Merlin. But he must have thought he was going to die so he gave Harry his memories and told him to go to the Pensieve in the Headmaster's office."

Potter was going to learn that he had to die. And before he went to go meet Voldemort, surely he would say goodbye to his friends.

"Hermione, when you see him, give him this." Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out Marvolo Gaunt's ring. "It's the Resurrection Stone."

Hermione gaped at him. "You never told me the ring was one of the Hallows!"

"I didn't think it was relevant, and I've never even used it before, but I reckon Potter will want it after he sees the memories."

"Why? What will he see?"

Draco was about to tell her when he spotted two familiar faces entering the Great Hall. "He'll tell you," Draco assured her. "And it's not my place anyway. I have to go." He gestured towards the entrance.

Hermione nodded and took the ring. "I'll see you later, then." She took off to find help for McGonagall.

Draco strode towards the entrance to the Great Hall, making eye contact with both wizards. "I'm really glad to see you're okay," he told them as he approached.

"That _we're_ okay?" repeated Narcissa Malfoy. "Can you possibly imagine what went through our heads when Sirius owled us to let us know you had exposed yourself and asked us to come fight?"

"It was the only way, Mother," Draco insisted. "Aunt Bella was going to kill Hermione."

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "I expect a full report of what happened this year once we return home."

Home. That would be nice. Going back to Malfoy Manor with his parents finally able to come with him and no Death Eaters flooding in and out.

Draco agreed. "Of course. How are William and Jane? I told Hermione about them and she'll be wanting to meet them when this is all over."

"Oh, they're fine," Narcissa told him. "William is very mature for his age and you know the house is well protected and concealed."

"Great. Now can you go help put out the fires with McGonagall?"

"And will you not be helping?" Lucius asked.

Draco shook his head. "There's something I have to do."

"Draco, as your mother, I command you to stay here and help us!" Narcissa ordered.

"Mother, you've got to trust me. I'll be safe."

"Let him go," agreed Lucius. "He can handle himself."

Draco wished them good luck and left before Narcissa could change her mind. If Potter was going to his death, that meant Draco would have to finish Voldemort for him.

As soon as he exited the Great Hall, he slipped on the Invisibility Cloak.

Meanwhile, Harry had made his way down from the Headmaster's office and paused at a window on the third floor, overlooking one of the Herbology greenhouses. He couldn't believe it—all these years he'd spent learning magic, chasing or running from Voldemort, putting up with his hateful relatives...they had all led up to this. And it turned out that this whole time, Snape had actually been trying to look out for him. But it was too late for the both of them.

How would his friends react when they learned the truth? That this whole time, Harry had been a Horcrux, and they only way to defeat Voldemort was to let Voldemort destroy the piece of soul inside Harry, along with the boy himself. He recalled how excited he was to find out he was a wizard, to meet the Weasleys and Hermione and Neville and Luna and the whole lot. And Ginny, what would Ginny do? She'd have to find out later, otherwise she would never let him go. Harry hoped Ginny would move on.

He wondered what the Slytherins would think. Blaise was his friend once, Theo and Pansy had been part of the Order, and he barely knew Adrian, but the boy seemed stuck in the middle during most of the war. Then there was Malfoy, who had risked his life multiple times to save Harry and his friends. Malfoy, who spent years despising Harry and getting Harry to return the favor, yet still found himself falling for Harry's best friend. Would he care? Had he known this whole time? He definitely knew a lot more than Harry thought he would.

Either way, least they were all on good terms now. Harry could go in peace, knowing everyone would be okay. All they would have to do was kill Nagini, and he trusted his friends enough to pull off that task. Just like Nicholas Flamel, Harry had enough time to set all his affairs in order before he went. The Dursleys wouldn't miss him—they wouldn't even know what happened. He had no family to go back to, no finances to worry about, no planned future ahead of him. All his life, he had only known the threat of Voldemort, and now that the foul creature was finally on the brink of destruction, Harry accepted his own fate.

He pulled out the snitch Dumbledore had left him in his will. _I open at the close_ , it had read. Putting the snitch to his lips, Harry spoke softly, "I am ready to die."

The top spun and the tiny ball opened to reveal a small vial of clear liquid. Was it what he thought it was? Had Dumbledore left him Liquid Luck?

No manner of luck could get Harry out of his situation, but based on past experience, he believed Dumbledore intended for it to help Harry quickly find his friends and give them the information they needed to finish the job. Felix Felicis wasn't meant to make whatever Harry wanted happen, it was meant to guide him to get his desired result.

Dumbledore wanted Harry to have confidence going into the last few minutes of his life, and so Harry opened the cap and quickly downed the potion. His feet instantly knew where to go to find Hermione and Ron.

He made his way down the stairs to the main floor, where Ron was leaning against a pillar. Harry didn't want to tell Ron the truth since the boy had just lost his brother, but he had no choice but to prepare his best friend.

"You alright, mate?" asked Harry as he approached. Ron turned and shrugged. "Bill and Dad are taking Fred's body to Hogsmeade and apparating home before coming back."

"It's my fault, Ron. I couldn't find the snake and now I know she's with Voldemort, but if I had, I could've killed him before the Death Eater had a chance to get Fred."

Ron shook his head. "Fred may have died for you, but he also died for his family, his freedom, and his right to be himself. It's not your war, Harry. We're all in this."

"Either way, it's got to stop. Where's Hermione?"

"With McGonagall. School almost burnt down, but I think we're good now. She might be in the Great Hall. You can come see Fred."

Harry shook his head. "I don't want to say goodbye to the whole family. Ginny especially, and your mum...they'd never let me go."

Ron frowned. "Go where? You're not actually thinking of going to the Forbidden Forest, are you?"

"I'm headed there right now, but I wanted to tell you and Hermione first."

"Are you completely mad?"

"Why is he mad?" Hermione asked, exiting the Great Hall.

"He's going to the forest! You can't give yourself up, Harry!"

Harry stood still as Hermione walked forward. "What did you find out?" she asked.

With a deep breath, Harry explained, "There's a reason I can talk to snakes and see inside his head. I think I've known for awhile."

Tears fell from Hermione's eyes. "We'll go with you."

"No," Harry said firmly. "Kill the snake. Kill the snake and then it's just him. Ginny still has the Sorting Hat from when I gave it to her, right?"

Ron nodded. "She hasn't let it go since we left to go to the Shrieking Shack."

"Make sure you find Neville. Something tells me he's the one who needs to have that hat." Harry paused. "Then I suppose this is it."

Hermione rushed forward and gave Harry a hug. Pulling away, she handed him Marvolo Gaunt's ring. "Take it. It's the Resurrection Stone."

"Where did you get this?" he asked, accepting the gift. Hermione's eyes told him everything he needed to know. "Tell him thanks for me, okay?" He turned to Ron. "Tell the family I'm sorry. And tell Ginny I love her."

The Liquid Luck in his veins prompted him to use the bridge entrance rather than the courtyard. And because of that, he passed right in front of Draco and allowed the Slytherin to follow him.


	40. 40: Harry Potter is Dead

Draco followed Potter into the Forbidden Forest, stopping when the Gryffindor came to a halt. It was difficult, knowingly walking to one's death, and Draco couldn't blame Potter for wanting to stall as much as he could.

Just as Draco had hoped, Potter took out the Resurrection Stone and called the dead back to this world. In front of them appeared two people Draco presumed were Potter's parents. The man beamed at his son.

"We're proud of you, Harry," said Mr. Potter.

Potter's mum added, "We love you so much."

Draco felt that he shouldn't be privy to such a conversation and decided to walk away to give them their privacy. However, Draco kept Potter in his sight so he could follow the boy to Voldemort and see if there was anything he could do to save The Boy Who Lived to Die one last time.

After a few minutes, Draco watched as Potter dropped the ring to the ground and continued on his way. They walked silently through the woods as dawn turned to day, and yet the sun did not emerge.

Draco wondered what Potter could have seen in Snape's memories that led him to this conclusion. Draco knew he shouldn't invade Potter's thoughts, but perhaps there was a clue in the memories that the Gryffindor had missed.

 _Legilimens_ , Draco thought, and he was inside Potter's mind.

 _It's the only way_ , Potter was consoling himself. _Dumbledore himself said so. Once Voldemort kills the Horcrux in me, then he's vulnerable_. _I just hope Neville can get the snake_.

Exiting Potter's thought, Draco realized how convenient it was for Potter to be thinking the exact information Draco needed. It was almost as if one of them had recently taken Liquid Luck, but where would Potter get that anyway? Unfortunately, Draco didn't think any amount of Liquid Luck could save Potter now. He was a Horcrux. Draco didn't know how—he supposed he'd find out if he looked into the Pensieve after the war was over. But this meant Potter had no option but death, and there was no way to save him.

Finally, they arrived at Voldemort's camp. The Dark Lord had his back turned, speaking to Draco's aunt. The Lestrange brothers were also there, among five other Death Eaters. Hagrid was tied up and held back.

Sensing Potter's presence, Voldemort turned around and smiled.

"Harry?" exclaimed Hagrid. "No! What are you doing here?"

"Quiet!" Rodolphus commanded.

Voldemort stepped forward, Nagini slithering alongside. "Harry Potter," he spoke. "The Boy Who Lived...come to die." The Death Eaters cackled. "Any last words? I'll be sure to have your half-giant friend pass them along."

Hagrid was weeping, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"I'm here, Tom," Harry said, sounding tired. "It's time."

The Dark Lord merely narrowed his eyes. Before Draco knew it, there was a flash of green, and Potter slumped to the ground of the forest.

It was done. If only Draco had the sword of Gryffindor, he could now kill Nagini and then Voldemort. But instead, he would have to pick up Potter's body and vaporize back to the school before Voldemort could even figure out what had happened. Draco slowly walked forward, careful not to make any sound. He bent down to prepare a quick flight when he noticed something.

Potter was still breathing.

"Rosier, go check," said Voldemort as the other Death Eaters continued cheering about Potter's apparent death.

Draco slowly lowered his face to Potter's ear. "Don't move," he whispered as softly as he could. "Just wait until the opportune moment."

As Rosier approached, Draco cast the Imperius Curse. The Death Eater simply bent down, hovered his hand over Potter's neck, and rose back up.

"Dead!" he declared.

Draco commanded Rosier to turn around and took off the curse just in time for the Death Eater to face his master. Although Draco wasn't in control of Rosier's mind anymore, the Death Eater truly believed he had checked and learned that Potter was truly dead.

Bellatrix's evil laugh rose above everyone else's as Rosier walked back to the group.

"Have the half-giant pick up the body," said Voldemort. "It is very important that we return to Hogwarts with this gift."

Draco stood up and left the scene immediately. He ran back to the school to warn the others. It was a long trip, but he finally made it back to the castle. The remaining students, faculty, and Order slowly emptied out into the courtyard, led by Longbottom and Ginny Weasley. Draco ducked behind a large piece of fallen debris, removed his cloak and stashed it in his robe, and came back out, blending in with the crowd. He couldn't see his parents in the crowd so he pushed through to Hermione and Luna.

"Hermione!" Draco whisper-called, trying to avoid the attention of anyone but her and Luna.

Thankfully, she heard him and spun around. "Draco? Where have you been?" Luna, standing next to Hermione, also turned to face him.

He caught up to them and lowered his voice. "The Dark Lord is currently on his way here with Hagrid, who is carrying Potter's body."

Luna looked solemnly at a tearful Hermione.

"No, wait," Draco said. "He's alive. He's alive, but no one else knows that. You two need to be prepared to strike as soon as Potter reveals himself. I don't trust anyone else to not give this away to Voldemort." Hermione was relieved, and Luna's eyes sparkled with hope.

Draco then backed into the crowd as Voldemort and crew began crossing the bridge to Hogwarts.

"Neville?" Draco heard Ginny Weasley ask, "Can you see who that is?"

The Death Eaters and Hagrid drew closer. "Harry Potter is dead!" announced Voldemort.

"No!" Ginny Weasley screamed and rushed forward. Her father ran to hold her back.

"From this day forth," the Dark Lord continued, "you put your faith in me." He turned back to his followers and repeated, "Harry Potter is dead!" They all broke into laughter as Voldemort turned back to face Hogwarts. "And now is the time to declare yourself. Come forward and join us! Or die."

To Draco's surprise, Longbottom began inching forward, the Sorting Hat in one hand, his wand in the other.

"Well I must say I'd hoped for better," Voldemort said, eliciting more laughter. He walked towards Longbottom and asked, "And who might you be, young man?"

"Neville Longbottom," the Gryffindor answered, only to get more laughter in response. Draco noted that Bellatrix found this particularly amusing."

"Well, Neville, I'm sure we could find a place for you in our ranks—"

"I'd like to say something."

Voldemort smirked. "I'm sure we'd all be fascinated to hear it."

Longbottom hesitantly took a step forward. "It doesn't matter that Harry's gone."

"Stand down, Neville," said Finnigan.

"People die every day!" Longbottom defended, turning so that he was facing both large groups. "Friends, family. Yeah, we lost Harry tonight. But he's still with us. In here." He clutched his chest where his heart was. "And so are Fred, Remus, Tonks, all of them. They didn't die in vain." He turned to Voldemort accusingly. "But you will! Because you're wrong!"

Voldemort simply laughed at the boy. "Such inspiring words! I must have you speak at my...inauguration, we shall call it. Nagini," he turned to the snake. "Show this boy what losing a war looks like."

Draco pushed through the crowd, hoping he would make it to the front as the snake sped forward, when suddenly, Longbottom pulled the sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat and slashed through the snake in one go.

Voldemort was taken aback, but still remained composed, as if he hadn't realized that the last Horcrux had just been destroyed.

"Longbottom," Draco said as he made it to the front, "you did it. Now it's just him." He pulled out his wand. Any second now, Potter would roll out of Hagrid's arms. He must have been waiting for a signal from Draco. But Draco had no time to give one.

"Oh, my dear foolish Draco!" Voldemort greeted. "You truly believe the last Horcrux is gone?"

Draco frowned. What had he missed?

"Don't be afraid to come closer!" The Dark Lord continued. "You know I will never hurt you in any way. Does it all make sense now?"

Of course. Now it all clicked. The visions he had, all the missions he was taken on, Voldemort not caring about his failures.

"You know," Voldmort spoke, "ever since you pretended to kill off your parents, I knew there was something that didn't fit. I must admit, you had us all fooled. I just thought you were a little boy who loved his dear mother and father so much he couldn't bear to hurt them, regardless of their betrayal to your master. And then came that fateful day at the Manor, when you finally revealed your true self. And for what? A Gryffindor girl with squibs for parents, squibs who have been so disgraced by their families that they might as well be Muggles?"

"She's better at magic than you could ever be," Draco defended. "And if I'm all that stands between both sides, it's not a problem at all."

"No, it's not a problem," Voldemort agreed. "That day in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor, during your holiday break from fifth year, when Lucius and I killed those miserable wretches, you were there. I did not notice at first, but you must have been quite shocked at seeing your beloved father in action, not to mention seeing your first death. I could sense your fear, see your mind. You became quite the Occlumens later, but then, as you cowered in the corner, your guard was down. I took my opportunity because I did not believe I would have a safer location for a Horcrux. But you have proved me wrong."

Draco knew exactly what Voldemort meant so he spoke. "My betrayal ensured that neither your followers nor my new allies would ever point their wand at me or put me in danger. And all those missions...you wanted me trained to defend myself against your own followers should the need ever rise."

"Clever boy."

"But here's the thing. When Potter showed up at your doorstep, ready to die, it was because he knew he had to destroy the Horcrux that accidentally formed within him."

This surprised Voldemort, but Draco was on a roll. "If Potter can accept his death for the good of everyone else, then so can I. And all that remains will be you."

He spun around and yelled, "Hermione!"

Draco didn't know if she would be capable of using the vile Killing Curse, especially to kill him. He didn't even consider if it would tear hear soul in two, but in that moment, he placed all his faith in her to do what was necessary.

And as Draco registered the flash of green coming in his direction, he believed in the right person. Now he could only hope that Potter had finally gotten a clue, and that Draco came back just like his Gryffindor rival had.

Perhaps being the master of all the Hallows would help him out.

 **A/N: Well, I've been wanting to write this chapter since I decided to make Draco a Horcrux three years ago while writing book 5. Yes, I did plan this and it's not just random so hopefully looking back, you can recognize the hints, but I still hope it came as a surprise. The Horcrux creation method is really complicated and I know Harry survived because Lily's protection something something and Voldemort using Harry's blood to come back and such. And Harry becoming one was just the curse rebounding and who knows if one can intentionally turn a person into a Horcrux? (I mean, a snake isn't too far off.) But I thought that if Draco was a Horcrux, there would be access to the visions and he'd actually have something to do during this whole last bit instead of just watching Harry come back. And more reasons you probably don't care about. After all, it's FANFICTION! (I'll stop.)**


	41. 41: At Last

Draco opened his eyes to a fog and bright lights. He looked around and realized he was in King's Cross Station. Not a soul was in sight. He turned around and to his surprise, Dumbledore was approaching him with a faint smile.

"Professor?" Draco called out.

"Not anymore, I'm afraid," Dumbledore answered.

"Why are we here? Is there where Potter came?"

The old headmaster nodded. "But Harry was killed under different circumstances, was he not?"

"Hermione thinks I'm coming back. That's the only reason she let herself do it." Draco paused. "Her soul? Will it split in two?"

"It already has," came the reply. "But love drew the pieces back together, for she believed you would really return to her. You see, Harry had the choice to go back and help his friends or move on. This was because of the love protecting him since the night Lily Potter sacrificed herself. But when you were turned into a Horcrux, it wasn't a rebounding spell, it was completely intentional. You don't have the same choice Mr. Potter did."

"So I can't go back?" Draco asked.

"Well, you certainly can't go on."

Frowning, Draco said, "I don't understand."

"When Miss Granger cast the Killing Curse, her intentions were clear: only destroy the Horcrux within you. It meant you couldn't die, but you can't go back either."

"So possessing all three Hallows didn't help me at all."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Being the master of Death has everything to do with accepting your own fate and nothing to do with the Hallows themselves. Hanging onto the actual Hallows is preventing you from truly accepting your death. You believe mastery is based on the actual objects, yet that is not the case. When you asked Hermione to kill you, you didn't really have a chance to accept death because you believed you would return."

"So I'll be here until I realize I have to move on and I'm okay with it. Only then can I really move on."

"Yes. I will leave you to your thoughts. When I return, it means you are ready."

Dumbledore walked away, fading into the fog.

Draco sat on a bench and waited. So this was it. He would never again see any of his friends or family. Hermione and everyone else would believe she killed him. But it was the only way. Surely they would come to terms with that eventually. They would defeat Voldemort soon, restore Hogwarts, and move on with their lives. His friends had each other to lean on, and his parents had William and Jane to look after. Hermione would find her uncle and bring her parents home. The Grangers and Malfoys would be fine. Hopefully even Snape would be okay.

Draco had prepared for the possibility of death the entire time he'd been at Hogwarts. This was a war, and of course there would be casualties. He had known he might be one, and that was okay. He had faith that everything would work out for the outside world. He'd go down in history for his sacrifice and his contributions, and the world would once again be at peace.

Death didn't seem so bad after all. He'd left everything on good terms, having made up with Potter and the Weasleys, and even Longbottom sort of. It was all going to be fine.

Out of the fog, Dumbledore reappeared and offered his hand. Draco took it and pulled himself up. Together, they descended into the fog once more. Draco's eyes began to droop as he walked until they finally closed.

The next time they opened was to complete brightness. Draco was no longer in King's Cross Station, but lying on some sort of concrete. It wasn't too comfortable, but Draco's body seemed to ache too much to get up and determine where he was. As he tried to turn his head through the searing pain, his hearing came into focus and he heard shouts from all around.

"Draco? Draco, look at me?"

Squinting, Draco turned to his left and saw Hermione shaking him.

"Can't. Get up," he barely managed to utter.

Hermione placed her arm around his back and lifted him up to sit.

"How long?" Draco asked her, reaching for his wand to heal his body aches.

"A couple of minutes," she replied. "Voldemort left as soon as you dropped and Harry went after him."

Time must have passed differently in the strange King's Cross Station. He'd have to talk to Potter about his experience. He chuckled at Dumbledore for a moment. Why did the wise always choose to speak in riddles or half-truths?

"What's so funny?" Hermione asked as she helped him stand up.

"I saw Dumbledore," he replied. "I'll tell you about it later. Right now, we've got to find the Dark Lord and end this."

They rose and made for the castle, blasting anyone who tried to keep them out. Draco's father was dueling both the Lestrange brothers with ease, yet he couldn't defeat either one. Sirius was keeping up with Bellatrix, who seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Draco!" The Slytherin spun around to greet his mother in an embrace. "Oh, you foolish boy." She broke away and hugged Hermione, to the latter's surprise. "When I ran to you, Hermione told me you weren't really dead. Otherwise the Granger line may very well have ended then."

"I'm fine, Mum," Draco assured her as Hermione stepped back uncomfortably. "But we have to go now."

Narcissa nodded and went off to help her cousin fight her sister. As Draco and Hermione sped through the castle looking for Potter, he reached into his pocket for the Elder wand. They reached the Clocktower Courtyard and found Voldemort and Potter facing off once more. The red light from Potter's wand combined with green from Voldemort's as neither could overpower the other.

"Hermione," Draco said, pulling out the Invisibility Cloak. "Take this. I'll distract him, and when I give the signal, we both attack at once."

"What spell? I mean I can't very well use Stupefy and I can't use the Killing Curse again."

Draco thought for a moment. "Disarm him. I'll disarm him too, and Potter's already doing it. If all three of us disarm him at once, the wand will get confused and split."

Hermione nodded and wrapped the cloak around her. Draco couldn't see if she'd gone but after waiting a short moment, he raced out to meet the Dark Lord.

"For seven years I've toiled away, trying to become the best wizard!" he shouted to Voldemort, hoping to distract him. "But that's not why you'll lose today. What you failed to learn is you cannot win alone. And we don't plan to. Hermione, now!"

"Expelliarmus!" they shouted together, Draco using both wands and Hermione dropping her cloak.

The three red streams tore apart Voldemort's wand. His arm began to crack like the wand. Draco watched in shock as the vile creature's body split into millions of tiny pieces and burst into the air, fading away with the wind.

Potter dropped to the ground, panting. Hermione ran to him, and Draco did the same.

"It's over," said Potter as Draco put his arm around Hermione. "It's over."

Draco hugged Hermione to him as Potter looked out over the courtyard with relief. Peace was finally won.

 **A/N: Holy Merlin. Last chapter. Only an epilogue left. I can't believe I made it this far. Just one more to go.**


	42. Epilogue

Draco stepped off the stage as the band's last performance concluded. Blaise, Theo, and Adrian followed as they cleaned up and got ready to head to Malfoy Manor for the party.

"Merlin, that was spectacular!" Theo exclaimed. "I'll miss it, though. We had a good run."

The Hallows had enjoyed ten years of worldwide success following the war. Draco had gathered his mates to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming a band, and they were all eager to pursue this dream for a little while. But they knew it would come to an end soon and they would have to find a different career.

"I, for one, am exhausted," said Blaise, "and I won't feel too sad about moving on."

Adrian agreed. "Right, but let's hurry. It'll look bad if the host isn't at the party before everyone else."

"Mother and Father are hosting, not me," said Draco as they made for the Floo, to his dismay. "Besides, I'm certain Hermione, Pansy and Luna left as soon as the concert ended to get their families so they'll already have beat us."

"Then let's go!" said Theo.

One by one, they went through the Floo and came out on the other side at Malfoy Manor. As Draco exited coughing, he was immediately greeted by Hermione. The Grangers, her uncle Stanley, and William and Jane were all with her.

"Great to see you all so soon," Draco told them. After the war, Hermione had cured her parents and brought them back to meet her uncle and cousins. Though they were upset she erased their memories, the reunited family couldn't be happier. Hermione went on to publish the cure and helped mass produce it for the Ministry, where she accepted a position in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures after completing her N.E. at Hogwarts.

"I've got an announcement," said Hermione, "but I'll wait until everyone else gets here."

"How did it go?" asked Narcissa, coming out of the kitchen.

"Just what a final performance should be," asserted Blaise.

"Draco!" Pansy and Theo's mother were here as well. "Amazing job!"

Slowly, more friends came through the Floo, ready to reconnect with each other.

"Hermione!" called Luna as she and Rolf Scamander, grandson of the Magizoologist Newt Scamander came in through the Floo, followed by Xenophilius Lovegood. "Your translation of the _Tales of Beedle the Bard_ was quite excellent. I enjoyed Dumbledore's notes very much!"

"You already read it?" Hermione said happily. "It was only just published."

Xenophilius explained, "As editor of the Quibbler, I received a copy immediately for review purposes." He handed her the Magazine. "Though you'd like to see before we publish tomorrow."

After the war, the Daily Prophet had been completely dismantled and replaced by the Quibbler, which now provided accurate news and reviews in addition to its old topics. Luna often provided articles for the magazine on the many new species of animals she discovered and classified as a wizarding naturalist.

Next, the entire Weasley family entered, followed by Harry and Lavender.

"I've got Firewhiskey!" shouted George as he and Percy shoved through the crowd. The Weasleys and the Malfoys had made up following the war, to everyone's relief. Fred's death had been very difficult to deal with, but it drew Percy closer to his family, particularly to George.

Harry and Ginny approached Draco and Hermione first.

"I honestly can't get enough of that last album, mate," Harry confessed to Draco. "Who would've thought a song about chocolate frogs would really hit home?"

"Look, Draco, I loved the album," said Ginny, "but he actually doesn't stop playing it. Ever. I think I'll actually go insane if I hear it one more time. Harry, you know I need to focus on the paper."

"The paper?" repeated Hermione.

"So now that I've retired from the Harpies, thanks to this one," she pointed to her swelling belly, "I'm going to reopen The Daily Prophet, sort of, but this time it'll be only about sports. And we'll cover the up and coming Wizarding leagues for regular and magicked Muggle sports as well."

"Like football and air football?" Adrian asked excitedly, butting into the conversation.

"Precisely."

"Great!" he exclaimed and ran off to tell Theo.

"Ginny, that's a brilliant idea!" Hermione told her. "What better way for wizards to accept Muggle culture and for muggleborns to get used to wizard culture?"

"What does the process look like at the moment?" Draco asked.

Ginny was about to answer when Ron and Lavender interrupted them. "Hey, guys!" said Ron. "So I was just talking to Pansy about this case Harry and I are working on with her."

"The Berkshire one?" Harry said.

"Right, Pansy told us about this one," said Draco. Pansy oversaw Equal Treatment at the Ministry and the Berkshire family had recently filed a complaint that two muggleborns employees of the Ministry had invaded their home and destroyed valuable items as ordered by the muggleborns' and Jeff Berkshire's boss in the treasury.

Ron continued, "Well, we were discussing the circumstances when we realized we'd missed something critical. Now it's no secret that the Head of the Treasury has it out for Jeff because of his ancestors' involvement in her parents' deaths. But Pansy just mentioned how peculiar it was that the Berkshire inventory Harry and I took showed that no irreplaceable items had been damaged, even though these items were scattered throughout the damaged ones. And we judged the whole crime took place in about a couple minutes."

Harry came to a realization. "Someone carefully decided what items would be destroyed in advance. And who could do that if they didn't already know what was in the house?"

"It was a setup?" Ginny asked.

"It must be!" Ron said. "I'll need to send this in to the head immediately."

"Certainly," said Draco. "Duchess should be in the next room."

"Thanks!" Ron said before rushing off.

"So, Lavender," Hermione said, "I heard about that new color-changing nails polish you're releasing."

"Yes, I'm very excited for it!"

"Where's your partner? I was hoping to talk to Parvati about how she developed it."

Lavender and Parvati had opened a hair and nail salon after the war, which expanded into a beauty product chain with salons and stores across Europe and Asia.

"Oh, she can't make it. She's speaking at Padma's conference in France about combining Muggle chemistry with Wizard Potions. Oh! Neville and Hannah are here!"

They all went over to greet the couple by the Floo.

"Have we got some news for you," Neville told them as he and Hannah Abbott approached them."

"So Tom's retiring from the Leaky Cauldron," said Hannah. "And I'm to take over! And since Neville's retiring from being an Auror—"

"Retiring?" repeated Ginny. "Harry, what did you say to him?"

"Nothing!" he defended. "Neville, mate, what's going on?"

"Well, you know I've always loved Herbology. And McGonagall owled me saying that Sprout's leaving Hogwarts for an extended research trip before retiring into the countryside. So...you're looking at the new Herbology professor at Hogwarts!"

"Neville, that's incredible!" said Hermione. "And Hannah, don't think I didn't notice that ring on your finger!"

"We figured since we're about to settle into our new jobs we might as well commit to each other now," Hannah explained happily.

A chorus of congratulations and many hugs were exchanged.

"Harry!"

Draco turned around to find the 20 year old William Lyson approaching them.

"Where's Teddy? I heard you're sending him to Beaxbatons! I can't wait to tell him all about it!"

"He's home watching James, Albus, and Victoire," said Harry. "At any rate, I can't believe the rookie is about to be a professional Auror."

William beamed. "That's right. I've been trying to get Jane into it, but I swear she's just like my cousin. Can't go a second without her nose in a book."

"Watch who you're talking to, William," Hermione joked. "I didn't get where I am by slacking off."

"Speaking of slackers, where on earth are Sirius and Ollivander?" Draco wondered.

"Right!" Hermione agreed. "I've been meaning to discuss the new Padfoot Chronicles book with Sirius. How dare he leave me on a cliffhanger?"

"Draco, I'm starved," complained Theo, walking up to him with Pansy. "The fridge is completely empty!"

"I know it is," Draco told him. "Mother didn't want you cleaning out the dishes before the guests had arrived so she charmed basically the whole kitchen."

"Ignore him," Pansy said as Theo began to look around hopelessly. "Look who's here!" Draco turned to find Sirius and Ollivander emerging from the Floo with a special guest.

"Professor Snape!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Oh dear," came his drawl. "The first one to greet me is an insufferable know-it-all." But despite his words, he managed a kind smile.

"They've finally released you from St. Mungo's!" Draco said.

"Not without complications," Ollivander said. "When we went to pick him up we learned he will continue to have difficultly remembering some events in his life and he is still greatly traumatized by everything."

"But hopefully old Snivellus will live out his days peacefully," Sirius said in good nature.

"Old?" Snape repeated. "Live out my days? Must I remind you we are the same age?"

"Ahem, right."

"Sirius," said Draco. "Congrats on winning Most Influential Author and Ministry's Star Historian of the Year and all the other titles and prizes from this past literary season! _Heroes_ really deserved all that recognition." Following the war, Sirius researched and published a seven-part series called _Heroes: Behind the Scenes of the Second War_ that continued to win accolades all over the world.

"Thank you, Draco, although it would not be possible had Garrick and Gerta not urged me to become a writer."

"How _is_ your wife, Mr. Ollivander?" Hermione asked.

"Doing well! She and the kids are currently visiting her sister in Wales. Not a day goes by that I don't thank Merlin for your help finding her, Miss Granger."

Gerta had been captured by Death Eaters during the first war, her memory erased. When Hermione learned this from Ollivander, she did everything in her power to find what happened to Gerta. After a year, Gerta was finally found in South Africa, living under a completely different identity. Hermione cured her memory and Gerta was happy to return home to Ollivander with her two adopted children.

"It was my duty to see your family reunited," Hermione replied.

"Kids?" Draco repeated. "They're certainly not kids, they're almost adults!"

"When one is as old as I am," Ollivander says, "they shall always be kids to me."

Hermione laughed and turned her attention to Sirius, who was catching up with Harry. "Don't think you'll get away with avoiding me, Padfoot. I need to know if Padfoot and the gang catch the killer! How can you end your first book without solving the mystery?"

Since Sirius released _Padfoot & the Walking Staff_ not two months ago, Hermione had become obsessed with rereading and looking for clues over and over again. Draco, on the other hand, had enjoyed the obsession almost as much as the tale of a wandmaking detective loosely based on Ollivander solving crimes with his dog, Padfoot, and the town criminal consultants James Mooney and Ted Prongs. It was quickly becoming a bestseller in both the Wizarding World and the Muggle world.

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the next book," Sirius told her.

"The next book?" Hermione gaped. As she went off on Sirius, Draco went to find his old bandmates. Theo, Adrian, and Blaise were gathered around a bowl of chips Theo must have begged Narcissa for.

"Son," called Lucius before Draco reached the table. "Your mother and I were thinking that we don't have much use for a manor anymore."

"You're not thinking of selling it!"

Lucius shook his head. "No, but we are getting quite old, and your mother insists on grandchildren."

Draco blinked several times. "Dear Merlin."

"So we thought it would be best if we moved back to France and Hermione stopped going back and forth between her and her house."

"You want me and Hermione to live in a manor all by ourselves?"

"Did I not mention the grandchildren yet?"

"Alright, thanks!"

Lucius chuckled. "You've got quite some thinking to do anyway. Now that the band's finally done."

"Which means you're thrilled," Draco joked. Lucius raised an eyebrow when Draco told him about The Hallows, but he accepted Draco's career choice nonetheless.

"What do you suppose you'll do now?" his father asked.

Draco thought for a moment. "I think I have an idea."

After finishing talking with Lucius, Draco went to his friends and grabbed a chip, sitting down. "So The Hallows are done," he said. "What are we all doing next?"

"As you all know," Adrian began, "I've been working on a project for several years now and I think it's finally time to implement it." He paused. "I'm bringing a new and improved banking system to Gringotts."

"That's brilliant, mate!" Blaise clapped him on the back.

"Yeah, Gringotts never really got over the war," Draco agreed.

"What about you guys?" Adrian asked.

"I think I'll join the Ministry with Pansy," Theo said. "Perhaps not Equal Treatment since they're not really hiring right now. Actually, I've always thought curse-breaking sounded pretty interesting."

"You've been talking to Bill?" said Draco.

Theo nodded. "Yeah, back when I first joined the Order he would talk quite a bit about it. And just now he was talking about how the career didn't end despite being in London. Apparently there's plenty of curse-breaking to do wherever you are, and the Ministry could use a lot of help right now."

"Think you and Pansy are going to settle down?" Blaise asked.

"No, neither of us really wants kids. Maybe that'll change later, but right now, I think we're just going to keep things as it is. But who are you to talk about settling down?"

Blaise shrugged. "I'll find that special someone, don't you worry. Speaking of," he turned to Draco "Adrian just got news that Giselle should be released from the hospital soon." Giselle was Adrian's fiancée who had recently been admitted to St. Mungo's after she and Luna were attacked in the Amazon. Luna was fine, but Giselle had been greatly injured.

"That's a relief, mate," said Draco. "I'm glad she's okay."

"Me too," said Adrian.

"Anyway," Blaise continued, "while I'm waiting for that special someone, I think I'll be going back to Hogwarts."

Theo raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little young for you?"

Blaise smacked Theo upside the head as the latter burst out laughing. "That's _not_ what I meant, and you know it. I've always had a knack for Transfigurations so I think I'll go teach while I figure out what to do with my life. And if there's no opening at Hogwarts, I could go back to my school in Italy."

"I've been thinking the same," said Draco. "I mean, I'd always been so focused on Voldemort and taking him down that I never really thought about what I'd do after. The band was great, but we all knew it wouldn't last forever. So I think I'll go back to Hogwarts too. Defense Against the Dark Arts _always_ has an open slot. And maybe I'll last more than a year."

"Is that so?"

Draco turned to find Hermione had come to their table.

"You're going back to Hogwarts?" she said, smiling. "Even though you refused to come with me when I went back for my N.E. ?"

Draco shrugged. "Hogwarts changed our lives. It makes sense to go back so I can get a new sense of direction."

"Well, before you do that, it's time for my announcement!" Hermione dragged Draco back to the group, followed by Adrian, Blaise, and Theo.

Once she had everyone's attention, Hermione began. "It's been really great catching up with you all, especially as we approach the ten-year anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. I am so proud of all my friends for getting to where they are now and to all our families for believing in us and holding onto that faith no matter what. That is why I wanted you all to know first that you're looking at your new Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and hopefully in about seven or eight years, your new Minister for Magic!"

The room went up in cheers as everyone congratulated and hugged Hermione. After the commotion went down and people went back to mingling, Draco pulled Hermione aside.

"I'm dating the future Minister?" he said. "That's quite nice. I can finally do whatever I want!"

"You do that anyway!" Hermione teased.

"So my parents are going back to France. Which means it won't be too weird if you move in permanently."

Hermione raised her eyebrow. "It won't be too weird?" she repeated.

"Please just move in, Miss Deputy Head."

Smiling, Hermione agreed. "It would be my pleasure, Professor Malfoy."

Laughing, they weaved their way through the group, talking to all their friends. As Hermione joked with Harry and Ron about being their new boss (with Ron adding, "Some things never change"), Draco noticed Harry feel his scar. Draco subconsciously reached for Hermione's scar as he looked at the Dark Mark on his arm. Ron was right; some things never changed. But some things did. Locking eyes with Harry, they both came to a mutual realization. The time to be happy had finally come, and a sense of relief washed over them both as their scars had not bothered them for ten years.

 **A/N: Thank you all so much for coming on this long journey with me! It's hard to believe I'm finished, but here it finally is! I'll be posting a new story about Hermione entitled The Quidditch Enthusiast soon so be on the lookout for that. Thank you all so so so much for your support!**


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